Washington Prime Group Sues Cook County Over Tax Assessments

Mall owner Washington Prime Group is suing Cook County over the tax assessments for two of its Chicago-area assets, claiming the assessor’s office “unfairly and unequally assessed” the properties for several years.

The filing in federal bankruptcy court in Texas is tied to Washington Prime’s bankruptcy and restructuring. The REIT filed for Chapter 11 in June 2021, then reduced its initial $3.5 billion in debts by almost $1 billion and emerged from bankruptcy in October of that year.

The adversary case filed last week alleges that the Cook County Assessor’s Office assessed the values of the Lakeview Plaza mall in Orland Park and the Countryside Plaza in Countryside for “far more than the value authorized by Illinois law” based on accepted appraisal methodology for years, going back to the 2016 tax year. Attorneys for Washington Prime didn’t respond to a request for comment. The Cook County Assessor’s Office declined to comment.

The Orland Park property was assessed between $30 million and $38 million during the 2016 to 2021 time period, according to numbers provided in the lawsuit. The Countryside property was assessed between $15 million to $19 million.

Washington Prime believes it is entitled to refunds of about $2.1 million for Lakeview Plaza taxes and $2.4 million for Countryside Plaza, according to the suit. The firm is also asking the court to determine the market value of the two shopping centers in light of widespread struggles in the mall sector and the deterioration of the properties’ operational performance, per the lawsuit.

The mall owner has filed a similar adversary case against Rockaway, NJ, claiming the township unfairly assessed two malls it owns there, Rockaway Commons and Rockaway Town Plaza. In that suit, Washington Prime is claiming it is owed $1.2 million in tax refunds for the two properties, which were assessed from about $16 million to $30 million.