Litton Business Systems, Inc. v. Borough of Morris Plains

8 N.J. Tax 520
CourtNew Jersey Tax Court
DecidedOctober 20, 1986
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 8 N.J. Tax 520 (Litton Business Systems, Inc. v. Borough of Morris Plains) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Jersey Tax Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Litton Business Systems, Inc. v. Borough of Morris Plains, 8 N.J. Tax 520 (N.J. Super. Ct. 1986).

Opinion

LASSER, P.J.T.C.

Taxpayer contests real property tax assessments on its office building property located on American Road, Morris Plains, Morris County, New Jersey, known as Block 11, Lot 3. At issue are the 1983 added assessment and the 1984 assessment. The pertinent assessments are as follows:

1983 Initial Assessment 1983 Added Assessment on Improvements 1984 Assessment

Land $ 1,412,100 $ 1,412,100

Improvements 8,903,000 $15,500,000 (12 months) 24,403,000

Total S 10,315,100 $11,625,000 (prorated for 9 months) $25,815,100

[522]*522The 1983 added assessment was affirmed by the Morris County Board of Taxation, and an appeal from the county tax board’s judgment was taken to the Tax Court. The 1984 assessment was the subject of direct complaints to the Tax Court, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 54:3-21, filed on August 15, 1984 by the taxpayer, which sought a reduction, and by the taxing district, which sought an increase, in the assessment.

The parties have stipulated that (1) a municipal-wide revaluation at 100% of true value was adopted in Morris Plains for the year 1983 and (2) the land value is $50,000 an acre.

The subject property is a complex of three, steel frame and masonry, two-story office buildings located on a 28.242-acre parcel of land. The property was used as the worldwide corporate headquarters of the Monroe Division of Litton Industries.1 The property, zoned “Limited Industrial,” is located at the end of a cul-de-sac in a corporate campus setting and is close to major highways (Routes 287, 10, 80 and 46), but access to American Road from Hanover Avenue is made difficult by the traffic pattern and the absence of a traffic signal. There are no other office buildings in the immediate area. All utilities are at the site. There is adequate paved parking on the subject property for the three buildings in single-tenant use, but the number and location of the parking spaces may be inadequate for multi-tenant use.

The buildings, denominated A, B and C, are joined by connecting, enclosed two-story passageways.2 The dates of construction and sizes of the buildings are as follows:

[523]*523Building A - built 1983 (Taxpayer contends that this building was not completed in 1983)

First floor 41,796 sq. ft.

Second floor 41,796 sq. ft.

No basement -

Total area 83,592 sq. ft.

Building B - built 1983 (Taxpayer concedes that this building was completed by March 31, 1983)

First floor 26.260 sq. ft.

Second floor 26.260 sq. ft.

Finished basement area 19,540

Unfinished basement area 1,600

Total basement area 21,140 sq. ft.

Total area 73,660 sq. ft.

Building C - built 1975

First floor 54.600 sq. ft.

Second floor 54.600 sq. ft.

Unfinished basement area 27,300

Semi-finished basement area 27,300

Total basement 54,600 sq. ft.

Total area 163,800 sq. ft.

Total area - three buildings

Office space (including 8,000 sq. ft. of connecting, enclosed passageways) 253,312 sq. ft.

Unfinished basement area 28,900

Total basement area 75,740 sq. ft.

Total area 329,052 sq. ft.

I find from the testimony that the foregoing square foot figures are the correct figures, although those used by the appraisal experts in their calculations vary with regard to some items. In comparing the value opinions of the experts, I will use a total rentable area of 273,000 square feet (total of upper floors, passageways and finished basement = 272,852 square feet).

The buildings were designed for a single user, with perimeter private offices and substantial open office landscaping without permanent partitions. Building C has two elevators, and buildings A and B each have one elevator. The buildings are heated, [524]*524air-conditioned and sprinklered, and are similar except that the heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) system in building C differs from those in buildings A and B. Buildings A and C each have a lobby, but the lobby in building A is not completed.

Taxpayer’s senior project manager, a registered architect who was in charge of the construction of buildings A and B, testified that the total cost of construction of these two buildings was $10,304,022, of which $9,340,674 was paid under the February 1982 contract to E.W. Howell & Co., the general contractor, and the balance was attributable to time spent by Litton employees, materials purchased directly by Litton and miscellaneous expenses. Not included in the $10,304,022 cost were in-house design, legal fees, site improvement and variance application costs, financing expense and taxes during construction and the contractor’s overhead and profit on Litton-purchased materials. The witness testified that $346,048 included in the construction cost was for the cutting of holes in the wall and roof of building C and the moving of utilities to accept the two-story, enclosed passageways to connect building C with buildings A and B, and was not attributable to the cost of constructing buildings A and B.

With respect to construction completion dates for buildings A and B, this witness testified that the temporary certificate of occupancy for both buildings was issued on March 18, 1983. On this date the shell of building A had been completed, the floor was bare concrete and the interior of the exterior walls had been covered with gypsum board with one primary coat of paint. The HVAC system was able to heat and cool to a minimal degree, the plumbing was complete, the elevator was operable, the electricity had been brought to junction points in the ceiling and most of the hung ceiling had been installed. In March 1983 it was still necessary in building A to complete the interior finish, install carpeting and partitions, complete the electrical installation, including the lighting fixtures, install the sprinkler heads and add ducts and diffusers to the HVAC system.

[525]*525Although building A was designed for open office planning, the stage of completion in April 1983 was such that there were no partitions except for the bathrooms. All interior finish for .occupants’ use was yet to be done.

I.

Taxpayer’s Appraisal Expert’s Opinion of Value.

The appraisal expert for the taxpayer relied principally on the cost approach because, he stated, the recent construction of buildings A and B made this approach more reliable. This expert’s building cost was derived from the Marshall Valuation Service Manual. He concluded that the cost approach value as of October 1, 1983 is:

253,312 square feel of office area and passageways at $59.12 a square foot $14,975,800 (rounded)

21,125 square feet of finished basement - bldg. B at $32.85 a square foot 694.000 (rounded)

54,600 square feet of unfinished basement - bldg. C at $14.17 a square foot 773,700 (rounded)

Added for semi-finished basement in bldg. C 327.000

Added for HVAC cost adjustment 518,800

Site improvements 500.000

Total cost new $17,789,300

Less unfinished area of bldg. A - 1,576,500 3 3

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Bluebook (online)
8 N.J. Tax 520, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/litton-business-systems-inc-v-borough-of-morris-plains-njtaxct-1986.