Uptown McComb’s challenge to Pike tax assessment is upheld
The company that owns Edgewood Mall is due a $321,000 property tax refund, a judge has ruled. If it stands, Pike County, McComb and the McComb School District each would lose tens of thousands of dollars.
RockStep McComb LLC owns the mall, now called Uptown McComb. The company had objected to the county’s $19.885 million true value estimate of the property for the 2020 tax year.
RockStep paid more than $517,000 in property taxes that year — the payment deadline was Feb. 1, 2021 — but appealed the mall’s valuation to Pike County Circuit Court.
In a hearing this month before Circuit Judge Mike Taylor, RockStep presented a 2020 appraisal that said the mall’s true value is $7.550 million — $12.3 million less than Pike County’s figure.
Taylor’s ruling, issued Friday, cited the appraisal and testimony of Peter Korpacz of Maryland in deciding for RockStep.
“RockStep also presented credible testimony that the approaches to value set forth in the Korpacz appraisal are the approaches material to buyers and sellers of regional malls,” Taylor wrote. “The county did not present credible testimony rebutting these facts or Mr. Korpacz’s appraisal.”
The judge’s ruling said Korpacz used an “income capitalization approach” to arrive at the mall’s true value. That method relies on the income a property generates to determine its value. It is often used for commercial properties like malls, office buildings and apartment buildings.
Taylor wrote that the evidence supported the income capitalization rate Korpacz used, as did RockStep’s net operating income at the mall. He noted again that the county did not present credible evidence to rebut either issue.
Taylor cited “a nationwide trend of particular economic challenges facing regional malls,” and added, “ Edgewood Mall is representative of that nationwide trend.”
The judge accepted RockStep’s true value claim of $7.550 million and ordered the county tax rolls to be changed to reflect this.
If the ruling stands, Pike County would have to return $115,572 to RockStep for 2020. The city of McComb would give up $86,670 and the McComb School District would lose $118,976.
The county can appeal the ruling. Pike County Tax Assessor Laurie Allen did not address that option directly in a statement Tuesday:
“It is the duty of the assessor to be fair and equitable across the board in the assessment of all of the county’s parcels, and based on annual audits performed by the Mississippi Department of Revenue, among other things, we believe we achieve that goal each year,” Allen said.
“Pike County stands by our 2020 fair-market value of the Edgewood Mall parcels now known as Uptown McComb. We were surprised that the assessment was reduced by such a substantial amount, and we do not think it is justified.
“We are currently evaluating all legal avenues to remedy what appears to us to clearly be a mistake. We will do all that we can to ensure the taxpayers of Pike County are not disadvantaged as a result of this ruling.”
RockStep bought the mall in 2017 and has objected to the county’s assessment every year since, including 2021. Allen said the company has already objected to the county’s value for the mall for 2022.
According to its parent company RockStep Capital’s website, Uptown McComb is one of 11 malls the company owns in eight states. It also owns 11 shopping centers and the Riverwalk Outlet Collection in downtown New Orleans.
Wayne Dowdy, attorney for the board of supervisors, represented Pike County in the case. Simon Bailey of Jackson represented RockStep.
