Petition Bear Pointe Plaza 2026.pdf
Bear Pointe Ventures LLC Petitioner Vs. Township Of Alpena Respondent · 26-000763-TT
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STATE OF MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS MICHIGAN TAX TRIBUNAL Bear Pointe Ventures LLC, Petitioner, v. MTT Docket No. 26-________ Parcel ID 018-103-000-199-00 Charter Township of Alpena, Respondent. ______________________________________________________________________________ PETITION Bear Pointe Ventures LLC (“Petitioner”), through its attorney Eva Cantarella at the law firm Hertz Schram PC, petitions this Tribunal as follows: 1. Petitioner is a limited liability company whose business address is 44160 Riverview Ridge Dr., Clinton Twp., MI 48038. 2. The Subject Property is a shopping plaza at 2680 US 23 South, Alpena Twp, MI., 48707, built primarily in 1968 and 1988, but with a 17,649 square foot addition in 2007, and having a total of 97,307 rentable square feet and further identified by Parcel ID No. 018-103-000-199-00. 3. Petitioner is the party in interest, as Petitioner is responsible for paying the property taxes on the Subject Property. 4. Respondent Charter Township of Alpena levies and collects the property taxes on the Subject Property. 5. The Subject Property is classified 201 Commercial and was built for its present use as a shopping plaza. 1
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6. The Subject Property is located in Alpena County and is in the Alpena Public Schools school district. 7. This Petition concerns issues relating to (a) valuation, (b) assessment, and (c) taxable value. 8. For the 2026 year, Respondent determined the following assessed, state-equalized, and taxable values for the Subject Property: Respondent’s 2026 Value Contentions Assessed Value State-Equalized Value Taxable Value Parcel ID 018-103-000-199-00 1,087,600 1,087,600 971,736 9. For the following reasons, Petitioner contends Respondent has over-valued the Subject Property. 10. The Subject Property has experienced high vacancy for many years. 11. In just the past two years, two anchor tenants--Big Lots and Joann fabrics--filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and vacated their spaces which had totaled 55,764 rentable square feet, or 57.31% of the total rentable square feet. 12. Another 13,600 square feet has been vacant for 12 years, and a 6,000 square feet former Family Dollar space has been vacant for 21 years. 13. Thus, as of 12/31/25, 75,364 rentable square feet were vacant, and only 21,943 rentable square feet were occupied. 14. Stated otherwise, as of 12/31/25, 77.45% of the Subject was vacant and only 22.55% was occupied. 15. Although 17,169 square feet of the non-vacant space is occupied by a relatively new tenant (rent commenced June 2025), PACE (a non-profit that provides various community services), 2
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prior to moving in, the space was vacant for nine years and Pace pays only $3/square foot. 16. Given the foregoing, the Subject Property’s 2025 net operating income was only $44,394 [excludes interest, amortization, and depreciation from expenses]. 17. In addition, the Subject’s parking lot needs resurfacing and the parking lot lighting needs to be replaced. 18. For all of these reasons, Petitioner contends the Subject Property’s True Cash Value is $1,000,000 and therefore its 2026 assessed, state-equalized, and taxable values should be as follows: Petitioner’s 2026 Value Contentions Assessed Value State-Equalized Value Taxable Value Parcel ID 018-103-000-199-00 500,000 500,000 500,000 19. Petitioner is unaware of any dispute concerning the value of a statutory “addition” or “loss” in determining the Subject Property’s taxable value. 20. Should Petitioner hereafter become aware of any such dispute, Petitioner reserves the right to amend this Petition to reflect the dispute. 21. Petitioner requests that the Tax Tribunal enter an Order (i) reducing the 2026 assessed, state-equalized and taxable values of the Subject Property to the amounts contended by Petitioner, and (ii) requiring Respondent to pay Petitioner any refunds attributable to such reductions, plus allowable interest and costs. 3
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Respectfully submitted Hertz Schram PC /s/ Eva T. Cantarella Eva T. Cantarella (P51917) Attorney for Petitioner 1760 S. Telegraph Road Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302-0183 off. (248) 335-5000; fax. (248) 335-3346 ecantarella@hertzschram.com 4