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The State Lottery Commission of Indiana formalized a resolution Tuesday to pay $9.1 million for a downtown Indianapolis building in which it currently operates.
The Hoosier Lottery has leased two floors of the building at 1302 N. Meridian St. since 2011.
“The property was designed to accommodate the needs of the Commission when the Commission relocated its headquarters in 2011 and continues to serve the needs of both Commission employees as well as lottery customers who regularly visit the Property for prize claim purposes,” the resolution said.
Indiana University Health Inc. owns the property and wants to sell it before the lottery’s lease ends May 31, 2025.
The purchase agreement, for $9.1 million, includes 183 accompanying parking spaces to the west and south of the building. They’d be available to commission employees, building occupants, and Hoosier Lottery players visiting the prize payment center located in the building.
Lottery Spokesman Jared Bond said the building has other tenants and is fully occupied.
“We have not discussed the possibility of extensions with current tenants. Those discussions will take place after we have closed on the property,” Bond said. The closing is expected within 60 days.
According to tax records, the building is assessed at $1.9 million but it last sold in 2021 for $12.8 million.
Also at Tuesday’s commission meeting, the board approved a $1 million payout to Tasha Weir. She was unable to produce her winning ticket but a procedure allows payment collection because she presented sufficient evidence to show that she was the rightful owner of a winning Cash 5 ticket.
Her case was fully investigated by the Security Division of the Hoosier Lottery, resulting in a recommendation that she be paid the prize.
The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, not-for-profit news organization that covers state government, policy and elections.
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“According to tax records, the building is assessed at $1.9 million but it last sold in 2021 for $12.8 million.”
State law requires assessed valuations be based on fair market value (which by industry standards is best established by the most recent sale of the building to a willing buyer without discounts or inducements), so how can this property’s tax valuation be so far off the mark?
Even in the year after the sale, I’ll bet the building was never assessed for tax purposes for even 25-percent of the purchase price.
This very thing is what caused the 2006 tax revolt and the referendum on tax caps: assessed value getting out of whack with fair market value during a real estate boom (AV too low), and then snapping upward when the assessors realized they were in violation of the State requirements.
I’m with you Brent. WTF? They sure managed to get my property reassessed to market value, yet IU Health is assessed at approx 15% of value. Wonder why “we don’t have the money” to pave our decrepit roads? Corrupt Indy BS.