Miami-Dade County’s property appraiser, Tomas Regalado, has initiated legal action to seek higher market valuations for several prominent properties and development sites. The lawsuits, filed in late July in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, target 17 property owners who previously received reductions in their 2024 property values, which resulted in lower tax bills.
Defendants include affiliates of Blackstone, Simon Property Group, Royal Caribbean Group, Prologis, KAR Properties, Midtown Development led by Alex Vadia, Swire Properties, Melo Group, and RER Ventures. These entities own a range of assets across the county such as shopping malls, cruise terminals, industrial sites and large-scale development parcels.
The effort to challenge reduced valuations through litigation began under former appraiser Pedro Garcia. Regalado noted a shift in approach compared to 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.”
Despite the decrease in lawsuits filed this year compared to previous years, Regalado said some property owners received significant reductions. “Still, the 17 property owners his office is suing ‘got a huge discount,’ and ‘they should not have received that kind of reduction,’” he said. He also stated that negotiations with ten owners were underway before filing suit.
Shahab Karmely, CEO of KAR Properties—one of the defendants—commented on broader appraisal 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 appraisers often do not consider factors like rising interest rates or construction costs when valuing development sites: “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 some agreement with Karmely’s concerns but argued recent valuation cuts went too far. He emphasized his intent to reach settlements rather than pursue protracted litigation: “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.”
Among properties cited in the lawsuits:
– Cruise Terminal A at PortMiami saw its assessed value reduced from $68.8 million to $53.7 million.
– Dolphin Mall’s valuation dropped from $603 million to $500 million after adjustments.
– Blackstone’s portfolio of industrial sites had its collective value lowered from nearly $550 million to $460 million.
– Midtown Development sites experienced reductions on two vacant parcels totaling over $70 million combined.
– Swire Properties’ former Brickell Avenue site was valued down from almost $99 million to about $68 million before being sold for over $200 million.
– Other properties involved include developments by Melo Group (Aria Reserve), KAR Properties (Faena Residences), RER Ventures’ lots in Coral Gables and Kendall (reduced from over $46 million total down to just over $6 million), and Prologis’ warehouse asset.
The ongoing disputes highlight tension between local government efforts to maintain or increase tax revenue and developers’ pushback against what they see as inflated assessments.
