University Plaza Realty Corp. v. City of Hackensack

12 N.J. Tax 354
CourtNew Jersey Tax Court
DecidedMarch 23, 1992
StatusPublished
Cited by30 cases

This text of 12 N.J. Tax 354 (University Plaza Realty Corp. v. City of Hackensack) 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
University Plaza Realty Corp. v. City of Hackensack, 12 N.J. Tax 354 (N.J. Super. Ct. 1992).

Opinion

CRABTREE, J.T.C.

This is a local property tax case wherein plaintiff seeks review of judgments of the Bergen County Board of Taxation affirming the 1988, 1989 and 1990 assessments on plaintiff’s property located at University Plaza Drive, Hackensack, New Jersey (Block 500A, Lot 1). The assessments, the same for all three years, were:

Land $4,664,000

Improvements 8,377,000

Total $13,041,000

At issue are the true value of the subject property and whether plaintiff is entitled to relief from a discriminatory [357]*357assessment pursuant to N.J.S.A. 54:51A-6 (chapter 123 in the Tax Court). Tax year 1988 was a revaluation year to which chapter 123 is inapplicable, N.J.S.A. 54:51A-6(d), so the court’s finding of true value will be the assessment for that year.

The subject property is a six-story multi-tenanted office building known as One University Plaza; it contains 125,847 square feet of leasable area and is located on 5.51 acres of land. The structure is one of three office buildings in a complex under the same ownership. The other two are known as Two University Plaza and Three University Plaza.

The subject building is of steel frame and prefabricated concrete construction with brick exterior interposed with bands of anodized-metal-encased glass. The building and grounds are well maintained.

When the building was constructed in 1969 the use of asbestos as a fire retardant and insulation material was state-of-the-art. The entire skeletal system of the building was insulated with a sprayed-on asbestos solution which, on the relevant valuation dates, was highly friable. Asbestos permeates the ceiling pans, the duct system, the internal wiring, the masonry surfaces in the plenum (the area between the ceiling pan or deck and the roof) and the support columns throughout the structure. In addition, friable asbestos is present in the elevator shafts, in many areas above the ceiling pans, where plumbing and wiring for electricity, telephones and computers are located.

With the passage of time, asbestos loses its adhesion, dries out, and frequently drops from the pipes, wiring or structural component onto the ceiling pan, thereby scattering micron-size flakes of asbestos throughout the ventilating system.

The additional expense occasioned by the presence of asbestos is incalculable, but substantial. For example, whenever work is done in the plenum, where plumbing, electrical and telephone lines are all located, the asbestos is disturbed, thereby necessitating extensive containment precautions such as respirators, uniforms and special training for the workers. [358]*358(Electricians and plumbers thus become instant ad hoc environmental technicians.) Moreover, because of the risk of disturbing the asbestos and disseminating it throughout the building by way of the HVAC system, repair work on the plumbing, electrical and telephone systems must be done after normal working hours thus incurring overtime labor rates. Also, air testing and monitoring must occur on an ongoing basis to ensure that the air in the building is acceptable.

In 1987, plaintiffs management embarked upon an extended program of asbestos abatement, notifying all the tenants that the asbestos condition existed and that management decided to do something about it. Management’s plan was to abate space as it became vacant and it was estimated that complete abatement would require ten years.

From July 1, 1988 through September 30, 1988, plaintiff spent $66,064 on its asbestos-abatement program; from October 1, 1988 through September 30, 1989, plaintiff expended the additional sum of $476,511 on the program; and since September 30, 1989, a further expenditure of $98,205 has been made. These abatement payments covered approximately 41,000 square feet of rentable space on the third, fourth and fifth floors. The total amount expended on the abatement program through May 5, 1991 was $640,957.

Much more remains to be spent abating the balance of rentable space and the 14,000 square-foot penthouse structure, which houses the building’s power feeds, emergency generators and HVAC equipment.

Plaintiff’s environmental expert, Adrian Koliba, estimated the remaining cost of the asbestos-abatement program to be $2.9 million, which includes demolition, containment (encapsulation of asbestos), removal of asbestos and its transportation to a disposal site, retrofitting and reinsulation. The estimate of $2.9 million does not include laboratory costs, which account for an additional cost of 15%, or the costs for reinstallation of duct work systems, new ceilings, ceiling tile, new wiring, painting and carpeting.

[359]*359The presence of asbestos has had a demonstrable effect on lease negotiations with prospective tenants. Two rental agents testified that prospective tenants would not enter into leases in an asbestos-contaminated building at any price. Their position is understandable in view of the high vacancy rates (20% or more) found in office buildings in northern New Jersey on the valuation dates. Some of the existing tenants, while aware of the asbestos problem, renewed their leases but at square foot rates less than the rates contracted for in their original leases. (The rental agents testified that, in their experience, lease renewals are often influenced by the cost and disruption associated with moving to another location. Also, the agents continued, the tenants expressed confidence in management’s determination to solve the asbestos problem.)

The standard lease term in the subject building is five years. Many of the leases confer renewal options, usually for five years. The leases are structured on a gross basis plus tenant electric, tax and operating expense escalations. Contract rental income, inclusive of expense escalation billings, was as follows:

Fisca1 ¡nded Income Rate/SF

6/30/87 $2,265,243 $18.00

6/30/88 2,460,973 19.56

6/30/89 1,614,806 12.83

6/30/90 1,603,634 12.74

Leases in Two University Plaza, one of the subject’s companion buildings, reflected a similar pattern of increases in contract rents in 1988 over 1987 and a decline in late 1989. Five-year leases executed in 1987 reflect contract rent of $17.50; five-year leases executed in November and December in 1988 reflect contract rents ranging from $16 a square foot to $18.75 a square foot; five-year leases executed in May 1989 disclose rents of $18 a square foot; leases executed in September, October and November 1989 reveal rents of $16.93 a square foot (net of concessions), $17.50 a square foot and $17.75 a square foot. Two University Plaza has no asbestos problem.

[360]*360Actual vacancies in the subject property and in its companion buildings were as follows:

Third Quarter

1987 1988 1989

One University Plaza 0.9% 28.9% 22.7%

Two University Plaza 8.8% 17.9% 20.2%

Three University Plaza 45.9% 24.3% 16.0%

Office building vacancy rates in Bergen County for the corresponding periods were 23.5% (1987), 20.9% (1988) and 17.8% (1989).

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12 N.J. Tax 354, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/university-plaza-realty-corp-v-city-of-hackensack-njtaxct-1992.