The Mellon Heritage Foundation is suing Erie County after being denied a real estate tax exemption for the former North East Mercyhurst University campus, which the organization purchased in 2023 to establish a veterans outreach campus.
The site features 215,000 square feet of buildings currently undergoing renovation.
Local experts discuss preventing sexual assaults on college campuses
Since acquiring the property, foundation leaders have been transforming the campus while using finished spaces for veteran outreach, North East School District events and broader community activities.
Rick Mellon, founder of the Mellon Heritage Foundation, said the property was previously tax-exempt under its prior owner. “When Mercyhurst University occupied this property, they obviously were given tax exemption status,” Mellon said. “When we bought it, for some reason it was taken away from us.”
He added that county officials determined the site was inactive without justification, saying, “They decided kind of almost on their own initiative that we don’t use the property, that we’re not utilizing the property.”
According to Mellon, the foundation has paid its county real estate taxes under written protest for all but one building on the campus, which received an exemption.
Mellon said paying tens of thousands of dollars in property taxes takes funding directly away from programs.
“Any penny that the county tax claim bureau is trying to get out of us. They’re thinking they’re getting it out of me or getting it out of this foundation. No,” Mellon said. “They’re hurting veterans.”
Mellon also noted that Erie County utilizes portions of the facility free of charge despite the tax dispute. He says two campus buildings currently house county emergency infrastructure.
“Erie County 911 relay system, the system that allows emergencies to be transmitted throughout the county, is housed in our buildings,” Mellon said. “Two of our buildings are used by Erie County for emergency services.”
E-bikes cause uptick in injuries among children
Erie County officials addressed the ongoing litigation in a written response. Chris Groner, director of administration for Erie County, cited state assessment regulations regarding pending legal appeals.
“The General County Assessment Law explicitly dictates that a pending appeal does not halt tax collection,” Groner said in a statement.
He added that, “If the exemption is subsequently approved, the taxpayer is entitled to a refund or a credit against future taxes.”
All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by WJET/WFXP. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat information into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by WJET/WFXP staff before being published.