Agreement raises assessed value of former Montgomery Consolidated School parcel, generating additional local tax revenue while avoiding prolonged litigation
Montgomery Township supervisors unanimously approved a negotiated tax assessment settlement Monday for a commercial property along Bethlehem Pike, concluding a years-long appeal that will increase the property’s taxable value and generate additional revenue for local governments.
The settlement involves the property at 739 Bethlehem Pike, a 1.07-acre parcel occupied by a car wash and owned by National Retail Properties Trust.
The property was the former site of the historic Montgomery Consolidated School. The historic 100-year-old two-story stone structure, which served for four decades as the Montgomery Township Consolidated School and later became the site of a fabric store and Montgomeryville Army-Navy, was bulldozed for a new 3,600-square-foot membership-driven car wash with 23 spaces and double-lane capacity for 16 vehicles. Following a public hearing before Montgomery Township Board of Supervisors in February 2022, Caliber Capital LLC, of Atlanta, received unanimous land development approval to demolish the existing 46,914-square-foot building and construct a new 3,680-square-foot one-story LUV Car Wash.
The assessment appeal was originally filed by the North Penn School District after the Montgomery County Board of Assessment Appeals declined to increase the property’s assessment following a 2023 hearing. The school district subsequently appealed the decision to Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, where negotiations ultimately led to the proposed settlement.
Under the agreement, the property’s fair market value will be established at $2.1 million for the 2024, 2025 and 2026 tax years. As a result, the assessed value for township and county tax purposes will increase from $279,930 to $745,500 for 2024, from $566,410 to $690,900 for 2025, and to $645,960 for 2026, reflecting changes in Montgomery County’s common level ratio each year. Beginning in 2026, the assessment of $645,960 will remain in effect for future tax years unless changed through another assessment proceeding permitted under Pennsylvania law.
Township officials said the negotiated agreement represents a practical resolution that avoids the expense and uncertainty of continued litigation while increasing the property’s taxable value. Based on the settlement, the property owner will owe approximately $2,048 in additional township taxes for the 2024 through 2026 tax years, while the property’s assessed value for 2026 will increase by nearly $79,550 compared with its current assessment.
Supervisors authorized Township Solicitor to execute the settlement agreement on the township’s behalf