Miami-Dade County is moving to increase the market valuations of several high-profile properties and development sites, a step that could result in higher property tax bills for their owners. Miami-Dade Property Appraiser Tomas Regalado has filed lawsuits against 17 property owners who received reductions in their properties’ market values for 2024, which led to lower taxes.
The lawsuits were filed over two days at the end of July in Miami-Dade Circuit Court. Defendants include affiliates of Blackstone, Simon Property Group, Royal Caribbean Group, Prologis, KAR Properties, Midtown Development, Swire Properties, Melo Group, and RER Ventures.
This legal strategy was first used by former property appraiser Pedro Garcia. Regalado noted he is less aggressive than his predecessor. “Last year, my predecessor filed 65 cases,” Regalado told The Real Deal. “We only filed 17 this year. The bottom line is that we are diminishing the number of cases that this agency used to file.”
Regalado explained that the 17 property owners involved “got a huge discount,” adding: “they should not have received that kind of reduction.” He also said his staff had started settlement talks with 10 owners before filing the lawsuits.
Shahab Karmely, CEO of KAR Properties—one of the defendants—commented on industry-wide concerns about land valuation practices. “We have this unfortunate pattern where the value of raw land that produces no income is arbitrarily increased,” Karmely said. “It’s not something that can be mathematically justified.” He added that factors such as rising interest rates and construction costs are often overlooked by appraisers: “Every year that passes, they are like, ‘We are going to tax you more.’ We have all these headwinds, but somehow these parcels are worth more. I wish that was the case, but it is not.”
Regalado acknowledged Karmely’s point but maintained that reductions granted by the Value Adjustment Board went too far. However, he emphasized his office’s willingness to negotiate: “My commitment is to make sure that our team looks at a property’s income, looks at market conditions and tries to settle cases for the benefit of the owners,” Regalado said. “And if they prevail in court, we’re going to respect the decision. We will not appeal at all.”
Properties targeted by these lawsuits include Cruise Terminal A (owned by Royal Caribbean and Icon Infrastructure), Dolphin Mall (owned by Simon Property Group), multiple industrial sites owned by Blackstone and Link Logistics in Doral, Midtown Development sites near Midtown Miami retail center and planned Midtown Park project with Rosso Development and Proper condo tower; a former Swire Properties site now owned by Melo Group; Aria Reserve development site owned by Melo Group; Faena Residences development site involving KAR Properties; RER Ventures sites in Coral Gables and Kendall; and a Hialeah warehouse owned by Prologis.
