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    Saturday, May 04, 2024

    Groton's grand list dips 0.1 percent compared to prior year

    Groton — Groton's 2017 grand list dipped by 0.1 percent compared to the prior year, with real estate values remaining stable, personal property values falling slightly and motor vehicle values rising.

    The town's total net grand list of taxable property was $3.7 billion, based on the values of real estate, personal property and motor vehicles as of Oct. 1, 2017.

    Real estate values showed little change, while personal property values fell 2.7 percent and motor vehicle values rose by 1.4 percent.

    Pfizer remains the largest taxpayer in Groton, representing about 8.4 percent of the grand list. Electric Boat ranked second and continued to increase its share of the tax base, making up 7.67 percent of the grand list this year, up from 7.61 percent the prior year.

    Multiple factors impacted the grand list last year. Personal property grew 13.2 percent, due partly to the development of three new solar farms in Navy housing and a fuel cell project at Pfizer. But any growth in personal property was offset by a court settlement with Pfizer, which had been denied the manufacturing machinery and equipment exemption years earlier.

    After adjusting for the court settlement, the personal property grand list dropped from $264 million in 2016 to $257 million in 2017.

    Net commercial real estate also fell, from $611 million to $604 million, due mainly to a settlement agreement with Fairview, Odd Fellows Home of Connecticut.

    Fairview runs the senior living community on Lestertown Road, and filed a lawsuit in New London Superior Court after receiving its Oct. 1, 2015, tax assessment. The nonprofit challenged the assessment as excessive and unlawful. As part of the settlement agreement, Fairview will pay $60,000 in payments in lieu of taxes to the town through 2025, plus taxes on any value over $25 million.

    The top 10 taxpayers and total net assessment (rounded to the nearest hundred thousand) are listed below:

    1. Pfizer Inc., $311.2 million.

    2. Electric Boat Corp., $284.1 million.

    3. Ledges Groton LP (Ledges Apartments), $27.8 million.

    4. Groton Development Association LTD (Country Glen Apartments), $19.9 million.

    5. Groton Fuel Cell I LLC, (fuel cell at Pfizer), $19.7 million.

    6. CW Groton Square LLC (shopping center), $18.5 million.

    7. Exit 88 Hotel LLC (Mystic Marriott), $18.3 million.

    8. Winterfell Windham Falls (senior housing), $16.4 million

    9. Elk La Triumphe LLC (La Triumph Apartments), $16.3 million.

    10. Domino Solar LTD (solar farm at Navy housing), $15.2 million. 

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