Another opinion issued by the Virginia Supreme Court on November 4, 2010, TB Venture LLC v Arlington County involved the proper assessment of a 21-unit condominium development in urban Arlington County, which is a lot different from the assessment of a 1,500 acre Class A business park at issue in West Creek Associates LLC v County of Goochland. Right?

Wrong. The facts are actually quite analogous and the law is essentially the same.

At issue in TB Venture was whether the condomimum development could be valued as a whole on a “leased fee” basis, with the value of the whole then allocated to each unit, rather than a fee simple valuation of each unit. The plaintiff’s expert justified his “leased fee” approach on rent restrictions that applied across the entire development. On cross-examination, the expert admitted his was a “bulk valuation” and “purely an allocation.” The trial court granted the County’s motion to strike.