Real estate spike causes South Windsor grand list rise
Feb. 4—SOUTH WINDSOR — The town's net grand list grew by $717 million, or 23.56%, caused by a large leap in real estate assessments from the recent property revaluation.
TOP 10 ASSESSMENTS
Eversource: $128.6 million
Broadridge Output Solutions: $35.9 million
FedEx Ground: $33.8 million
Aldi Inc.: $31.5 million
Promenade Shops at Evergreen Walk: $24.6 million
Evergreen Crossings Retirement: $24.1 million
Yankee Gas: $20.5 million
Tempo at Evergreen Walk Apartments: $20.1 million
Macy's Distribution Center: $17.1 million
HarborChase of Evergreen Walk: $15.7 million
The grand list includes the total of all taxable property assessments, including motor vehicles, real estate, and personal property in South Windsor on Oct. 1, 2022.
The updated net assessment, which totals nearly $3.8 billion, will be used to help town officials craft a budget and calculate the tax rate, which is currently at 38.77 mills.
One mill equals $1 for each $1,000 of assessed property value.
Motor vehicles and personal property are assessed annually while real estate undergoes revaluation every five to 10 years, according to state law.
South Windsor most recently completed a full revaluation in 2022, which included a physical inspection of individual properties.
"The real estate market showed significant appreciation between Oct. 1, 2017 and Oct. 1, 2022, producing a 28.06% total net increase in real estate," Town Manager Michael Maniscalco said.
Residential properties had an average increase of 33% while commercial and industrial property values increased by 11%.
Town Assessor Mary Huda said that South Windsor would have only seen an increase of around 3% if it wasn't for the required property revaluation.
The net assessment of motor vehicles grew by 7.62%, or by $23.1 million from 2021, caused by an increase in used car values.
Maniscalco said that this is a trend that started in 2020, and that other towns in Connecticut are reporting similar growth in their motor vehicle values.
Huda added that 500 additional vehicles were assessed on the 2022 grand list compared to the 2021 list.
Personal property, which is primarily business equipment and can be an indicator of economic growth for a town, saw a $21.5 million jump, which is a 6.25% change from 2021, for a net total of $365 million.
"This was propelled by consistent increases in personal property declared by" local utilities such as Eversource and Yankee Gas, Maniscalco said.
He added that new commercial projects like Costco, Chase Bank and the HarborChase senior living complex also contributed to the personal property assessment change.
The brand new 163,000 square-foot Costco opened at 1220 Tamarack Ave. on Nov. 16, 2021. Over 100 people waited in line on opening day to be the first group allowed inside the warehouse shopping center.
South Windsor's top 10 taxpayers for 2022 is similar to that of 2021, with nine remaining on the list, but in different order.
The Promenade Shops at Evergreen Walk, which ranked as the second highest taxpayer on the 2021 list, dropped to number five.
Maniscalco said that FedEx Ground jumped to third on the list due to their increase in personal property.
Collin covers South Windsor and East Hartford for the Journal Inquirer.
