THE SPECTATOR: CRAZY PROPERTY VALUES
If I asked you what land is the most valuable in Brenham, what would you answer? When I asked one of the appraisers from the Washington County Appraisal District that question, his immediate answer was the intersection of South Day and Highway 290, where Jack in the Box and the Chevron station sit. I then asked him how that could be, when the Jack in the Box land, along with the Chevron Station, are valued at $26 a square foot…while my radio station land at the corner of Main and Market Street, is now valued at $40. In fact, every property on the Washington County Courthouse square in downtown is valued at $60, more than double the value of what had he just called “the most valuable property in Brenham”. He quickly backtracked saying that he “misspoke, as downtown properties are obviously the most valuable”. It’s funny how corporate America disagrees with him, as they’ve chosen the 290 Loop for properties like Starbucks, Chick-Fil-A and others.
This has become a serious problem for the economic vitality of our wonderful downtown. Under the Appraisal District’s new uniform downtown valuation system, the property around the square is worth $2.6 million an acre! That’s four times its valuation from just last year! Over the last five years, the valuation of one of our properties downtown has increased by over 700%! This cannot help but affect the rent being charged to downtown businesses. You may have noticed the ever-increasing number of empty storefronts.
The disparity in how the Appraisal District has valued land that is across the street or right next to another piece of property is laughable. The land beneath KWHI is $40 per square foot, while Bluebonnet Abstract, right across Market Street, is only $20. Russell Noe’s law office at the corner of South Austin and Main Streets is valued at $19, while the Brenham National Bank ATM drive-thru right next door is $40. I asked the appraiser how commercial property on one the busiest corners in Brenham, Blue Bell Road and North Park Street, could be valued at only $3. His answer? “We didn’t get to Blue Bell Road this year.”
Well, it’s obvious that the Appraisal District has been sharply focused on increasing the valuations downtown the past three years. I think they’ve done enough damage to our downtown economy. I suggest they spread their work out to other parts of the city and leave us alone for a bit.
And that’s the way it looks to this Spectator.