Russell Block Associates v. Board of Assessors of Worcester (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-145-15)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Judicial Court, John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Suite 2500, Boston, MA, 02108-1750; (617) 557-1030; SJCReporter@sjc.state.ma.us 14-P-283 Appeals Court RUSSELL BLOCK ASSOCIATES vs. BOARD OF ASSESSORS OF WORCESTER. No. 14-P-283. Suffolk. November 10, 2014. – September 16, 2015. Present: Rubin, Brown, & Maldonado, JJ. Taxation, Real estate tax: abatement, classification of property. Real Property, Tax. Appeal from a decision of the Appellate Tax Board. John F. O’Day, Jr., Assistant City Solicitor, for board of assessors of Worcester. Daniel I. Cotton for the taxpayer. BROWN, J. The board of assessors of Worcester (assessors) challenges a decision of the Appellate Tax Board (board) granting the taxpayer an abatement of the fiscal year (FY) 2012 tax on its parking garage. The issue for consideration is whether the board erred by finding and ruling that the subject property was a multiple-use property appropriately classified as part residential and part commercial.[1] See G. L. c. 59, § 2A(b). We conclude that the board’s classification determination was a reasonable interpretation of the statutory language. Accordingly, we affirm the decision of the board. 1. Facts. We summarize the board’s findings.[2] In 1992, the taxpayer, Russell Block Associates, constructed a twenty-four story residential building (Tower) in the city of Worcester. The Tower development project was conditioned on the construction of a parking garage.[3] The five-story garage in issue contains 300 parking spaces and is located across a small side street from the Tower. There are no dwelling units in the garage. By contract entitled “Agreement to Provide Parking Spaces,” the taxpayer agreed to reserve a minimum of one hundred spaces and up to a maximum of 250 spaces for exclusive use by the tenants of the Tower. For the next nineteen years, the assessors classified the garage as a mixed-use property, taxing a large percentage of its value at the lower residential rate.[4] In classifying the property in this manner, the assessors followed the guidelines issued by the Commissioner of Revenue (commissioner).[5] See G. L. c. 58, § 3; McNeill v. Assessors of W. Springfield, 396 Mass. 603, 606 (1986). Beginning in FY 2012, however, the assessors classified the property as entirely commercial. 2. Standard of review. Our task is to embrace an interpretation “consistent with the purpose of the statute and in harmony with the statute as a whole.” Adams v. Assessors of Westport, 76 Mass. App. Ct. 180, 183-184 (2010), quoting from Sudbury v. Scott, 439 Mass. […]
PHOTOS: Ink Block Demolition Continues on Harrison Ave
The former Boston Herald building is officially no more. Demolition has been underway for the last several weeks at the Harrison Ave site of the future Ink Block Developement, a $ 200 million mixed-use project that will feature hundreds of apartments and a Whole Foods supermarket. At the demolition site this week, construction crews used a crane and a wrecking ball to tear down the small portion remained standing of the Herald building. Construction began on the six-acre site in 2013 with a ceremonial ground-breaking. The project is scheduled to be fully completed in 2016. The Whole Foods supermarket is expected to open in late 2014. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch
Former Herald Building Demolition, Ink Block Construction to Start
In a ceremony filled with memories from Boston Herald employees and hope for the future development of the neighborhood, Mayor Menino, state reps and city officials gathered in the South End on Thursday to say goodbye to the old building and welcome the new Ink Block development. Menino said he was happy to see a bridge built between the South End, Chinatown and South Boston with the new development, and the first full-sized grocery store come to the South End. “The South End deserves this type of development,” he said. “As part of the ongoing transformation of the South End, this project will grow the neighborhood’s vitality with its diverse housing mix, new pedestrian activity and retail energy.” The new development, situated at the corner of Harrison Ave and Traveler Street, will feature 475 units of housing in five buildings and 85,000 square feet of retail space, including a 50,000-square-foot Whole Foods Market, which will be the chain’s largest location in Boston. “We are thrilled to officially begin construction on what we are proud to say will become the new center of gravity for life in the South End,” said Ted Tye, managing partner of the development firm on the project, National Development. “Ink Block will transform this currently underutilized block by adding stylish neighborhood-focused, trend-setting housing, restaurants, exciting shops and entertainment options, making this the newest location for 18-hour living in Boston.” But not everyone at the ceremony was excited to see the building be torn down. Joe Fitzgerald, a 43-year veteran of the Boston Herald, reminisced about the days and long hours spent at the building, the time in 1982 when the paper was almost shut down, and the daily rumbling of the newspaper presses doing their work late into the night. “From all of us at the Boston Herald, I hope you’ll be as happy living here as we were working here,” he said. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch
Categories: Arrests Tags: Block, Building, Construction, Demolition, Former, Herald, Start
Things to Know in the South End Today, April 11: Ink Block Demolition Ceremony
1. Weather: The National Weather Service is predicting a rainy day with a high of 49 degrees. There’s a 60 percent chance of rain. 2. Ink Block Demolition: There will be a special demolition ceremony at Ink Block on Harrison Ave. in the South End Today. Mayor Menino and others will be on hand to remove the first brick from the former Boston Herald building to start the demolition and construction process to make way for the new apartment complex. See here for more information. 3. Musical at BCA: The Boston Children’s Theatre presents a musical take on the children’s book, “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day,” this weekend and next weekend at the Boston Center for the Arts (572 Tremont St.) See here for more information. 4. Artist Walk-Through: Boston Artist Ken Beck will “extemporize” on 78 paintings and drawings from his private collection spanning nearly 30 years which presently are on display at Hammond Residential Real Estate, 10 Berkeley St. this coming Sunday, April 14, from 4-5pm. The exhibit is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekend through May. See here for more information. 5. South End Award: Leo Delaney, CEO of Ellis Memorial, has been selected by the Board of Directors of the Ellis South End Neighborhood Association as the 2013 recipient of the Arthur Howe Award. Named for longtime neighborhood resident and founding member of the neighborhood AssociationArthur Howe, the award is presented annually to an individual who has made “enduring contributions toward improving and preserving Boston’s unique and historic South End. “ In announcing the award, Ellis South End Neighborhood Association President Michael Hall cited Delaney’s “many years of community service to our South End neighborhood.” See here for more information. Things you can do every day on South End Patch: Share your news with the rest of the community. Click here to add an announcement. Add your events to our events calendar. Click here to sign up for breaking news updates. Want up-to-the-minute news? Click here to follow us on Facebook or Twitter. Share your thoughts on your community in a blog. Click here to get started. South End Patch
Week in Review: Ink Block Construction to Start, Hepatitis B Scare at BMC
The following were the top headlines on South End Patch from April 1 to April 5, 2013: Police: Arrest Made for Attempted Dwight Street Break-Ins Boston Police arrested a Dwight Street resident for allegedly attempting to break into two residences with a pair of scissors. Construction to Start at Ink Block in April A ground-breaking ceremony will be held at the future Ink Block site on Harrison Ave on April 11. Most South End Hubway Stations Up and Running Six stations are planned for the South End neighborhood in 2013. Hepatitis B Exposure Scare at Boston Medical Center The hospital said on Saturday that five patients may have been exposed to Hepatitis B while they were treated at the hospital. Things to Know in the South End Today, April 5: Sibling Rivalry Closed After nine years in the neighborhood, Sibling Rivalry on Tremont Street has closed its doors. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch
Construction to Start at Ink Block in April
Construction at the Ink Block apartment complex site on Harrison Avenue is slated to start in April, but not before a special ground-breaking ceremony is held on April 11. Called the “Ink Block Party,” the event will feature Mayor Menino, Boston Redevelopment Authority Director Peter Meade, Ted Tye, managing partner with National Development, the project’s developer, and Joe Fitzgerald, a columnist from the Boston Herald. Menino will be removing a symbolic brick from the old Boston Herald building, and Fitzgerald will share memories from the paper’s 54-year history in the building. The Herald re-located to the Seaport District in 2011. The finished $ 200 million development will include 471 apartments, a Whole Foods supermarket, and other shops and restaurants on the 6-acre site. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch
Categories: Arrests Tags: April, Block, Construction, Start
Mural Goes Up On Former Herald Building for ‘Ink Block’
http://southend.patch.com/announcements/local-artist-paints-mural-on-former-herald-building-at-ink-block-construction-site-in-south-end South End Patch
Things to Know in the South End Today: Mural Painting at Ink Block
1. Weather: The National Weather Service is predicting today will be mostly sunny with a high near 33 degrees and wind gusts up to 26 mph. 2. Mural Painting at Ink Block: Head by the brick wall on Traveler Street (near the corner of Harrison Ave and Herald Street) at 3:30 today to see local artist Cyrille Conan painting the above mural at the site of the future Ink Block development. 3. Dance the Tango: Have you ever wanted to learn to dance the tango? Thanks to a new four-week class at MOVIMIENTO in the South End, you can! The class starts on Saturday at 2 p.m. and costs $ 130 for four sessions. See here for more information. 4. HONK: If you haven’t caught HONK! yet, it’s your last chance this weekend to catch the musical in the South End. Performed by the Boston Children’s Theater, HONK! is based on the Hans Christian Andersen story The Ugly Duckling, telling the story of tolerance and love in a way. See it at 2 p.m. at the Boston Center for the Arts on Saturday or Sunday. See here for more information. 5. JT & Jay-Z in Boston? Keep thinking positively people. Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z are rumored to be on the docket for two August concerts at Fenway Park. See here for more details. Things you can do every day on South End Patch: Share your news with the rest of the community. Click here to add an announcement. Add your events to our events calendar. Click here to sign up for breaking news updates. Want up-to-the-minute news? Click here to follow us on Facebook or Twitter. Share your thoughts on your community in a blog. Click here to get started. South End Patch