The City of Hartford has issued a $780,782 property tax refund to the court-appointed receiver of the 12-story Metro Center office tower downtown, following the settlement of an assessment appeal in New Britain Superior Court.
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The City of Hartford has issued a $780,782 property tax refund to the court-appointed receiver of the 12-story Metro Center office tower downtown, following the settlement of an assessment appeal in New Britain Superior Court.
The case stems from a 2022 lawsuit filed by Metro Center’s owner — and Hartford’s largest landlord — Shelbourne Global Solutions. The company challenged the city’s 2021 appraisal of the 350 Church St. property, arguing that the $30.77 million valuation was excessive and unlawful.
However, Hartford Assessor John Philip said Thursday that Shelbourne’s complaint was inaccurate, noting that the city had set the property’s fair market value at $21 million, less than claimed.
The dispute was settled on June 25, when both parties agreed to set the valuation at $15.77 million. That change triggered an immediate refund of $254,506 for three years of overpaid taxes, plus additional reimbursements of business improvement district taxes.
The settlement also lowers the 293,639-square-foot tower’s tax obligations for the next 18 months, until the results of the 2026 citywide revaluation are factored into tax bills.
Farmington-based Greene Law represented Shelbourne in the matter.
The refund is the latest in a string of reductions to commercial property values resulting from appeals of the city’s 2021 revaluation.
In late 2023, Hartford refunded $2.9 million in property taxes to the owners of State House Square. In early 2024, a judge approved nearly halving the city’s assessed value of the 23-story “Stilts Building” at 20 Church St., another Shelbourne-owned property — a ruling expected to return about $1.6 million in taxes to the landlord.
Despite the mounting settlements, Philip said the number and outcomes of such appeals are typical following a citywide revaluation.
The wave of assessment appeals on downtown Hartford office towers that began in 2022 has been followed by a wave of foreclosure actions as the city’s office towers have seen big increases in vacancies.
The Metro Center refund has been handed over to a receiver appointed in January by a Hartford Superior Court judge hearing a foreclosure lawsuit brought by Webster Bank. The bank alleges that Shelbourne defaulted on a $38 million loan that matured March 1, 2024.
