Ontario’s Assessment Review Board that ruled the property assessment for Valery Group’s new 183-unit rental buildings at 1670 Garth Street and 445 Rymal Road is $36,106,000, slightly less than the initial assessment of $36,759,000 when the buildings were first occupied during the 2022 roll return.
Valery Group appealed the original value, stating the property should be valued at $22,963,400 based on 2016 property values. Ontario’s municipal property tax assessments remained frozen at 2016 values.
The City of Hamilton argued for $42,040,000 and the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation stated its updated value is $33,642,000, down from its initial assessment.
Board Member Dan Weagant listened to submissions from all three parties over two days in mid-February, and issued a decision in late May.
Valuation of rental apartments is calculated using revenue and expense projections, the capitalization rate (return on investment), and vacancy rates.
The Board used 2016’s average market rent, as required, with an added premium for the building being new. It set operating expenses at 41.5 percent of revenue, averaging between the City’s 35 percent estimate and Valery’s 48 percent submission. The Board similarly applied a cap rate of 5.125 percent using the average of both parties’ submissions.
Weagant gave substantial weight to the 2017 sale of the 321-unit apartment building at 140 Main Street West for $80,692,478, noting it is the only sale in MPAC’s records involving a property in the new multi-residential property class.
The decision to slightly lower the valuation means the City of Hamilton will need to refund a portion of past property taxes for the years 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.
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Published: June 15, 2025
Last updated: June 15, 2025
Author: Joey Coleman
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