Read on Twitter
There's gonna be articles about Hardwick's in the UDist closing. The owners claim "rising property taxes - jumping 25% every year, along with new zoning". This is a false narrative.
We'll look at the reality.
(A thread 1/12) https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/beloved-family-owned-hardware-store-closing-its-doors-after-almost-90-years-business/Z25CQVX5QNGP3DAENQOPSUTRDY/
We'll look at the reality.
(A thread 1/12) https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/beloved-family-owned-hardware-store-closing-its-doors-after-almost-90-years-business/Z25CQVX5QNGP3DAENQOPSUTRDY/
First, has Hardwick's property tax increased 25% year over year? Kinda. Reality is prop tax increased along with property value.
They pay more tax because their property is worth more.
(In the table, "Tax year" is when payment is due. Property is valued the year before)
2/12
They pay more tax because their property is worth more.
(In the table, "Tax year" is when payment is due. Property is valued the year before)
2/12
How much more?
2017 saw a 21% tax increase on 25% value increase
2018 had 28% increase on 25% value increase
2019 had 2% decrease on 12% value increase
2020 had 41% increase on 29% value increase
Note though that 2020 vs 2018 had a 38% tax increase on a 44% value increase.
3/12
2017 saw a 21% tax increase on 25% value increase
2018 had 28% increase on 25% value increase
2019 had 2% decrease on 12% value increase
2020 had 41% increase on 29% value increase
Note though that 2020 vs 2018 had a 38% tax increase on a 44% value increase.
3/12
In 2017 @SeattleCouncil upzoned the Hardwick's lot from C1-65 to SM-U 75-240 (M1). This means the lot can be redeveloped not as a 65ft bldg but into a 240ft tower with a 75ft high base, and it must provide affordable housing onsite or via fee.
4/12 https://www.theurbanist.org/2017/02/22/9-0-city-council-passes-u-district-rezone-unlocking-mha/
4/12 https://www.theurbanist.org/2017/02/22/9-0-city-council-passes-u-district-rezone-unlocking-mha/
With the upzone passed Feb 2017, I'm not certain when the extra zoned capacity affected valuation. It may have come in the 2017 valuation (2018 tax year), but more likely we're seeing the impact in the 2019 and later tax years. But nearly quadrupling height certainly factors
5/12
5/12
With the ability to build a 240ft tower, the Hardwick family could have redeveloped the site with housing above their hardware store, creating a revenue stream that would pay their property taxes in perpetuity.
6/12
6/12
Three blocks north is another 16,000 sqft lot zoned SM-U 75-240 (M1). In 2019 a 24-story apartment building (The 'M' Seattle) was built with 230 units ranging from 295sqft to 1132sqft. Most are 449sqft or larger.
7/12
7/12
The land value is the same as Hardwick's: $9.6M. But let's look at the total value: $98 Million, most of which is the 24-floor tower. For the rest of us, this added $92M in new value, which *reduced* the prop tax we'd otherwise pay.
8/12
8/12
Where does this leave Hardwick's? The owning family made it clear they just aren't a fan of taxes. Granted, if WA had an income tax we could probably simplify our tax structure & still bring in the additional revenue needed for a functioning society.
9/12 https://mynorthwest.com/2171612/seattle-hardwick-hardware-closing-crime/amp/
9/12 https://mynorthwest.com/2171612/seattle-hardwick-hardware-closing-crime/amp/
So at the end of the day, the Hardwick's family left not because taxes were too high, but because they simply didn't want to make use of their main asset: a 16,000 square foot lot zoned for a 24 floor residential building within walking distance to UW.
11/12
11/12
How do we know this? Bill Hardwick died in 2017. In 2019 the property was sold by the family LLC to Washington Opportunity Fund LLC for $17M to become 18 floors of apartments
$17M is a nice inheritance. And *that's* probably why Hardwick's closed
https://www.facebook.com/vanishingseattle/posts/3243788279033771
10/12
$17M is a nice inheritance. And *that's* probably why Hardwick's closed
https://www.facebook.com/vanishingseattle/posts/3243788279033771
10/12
So is it sad Hardwick's is leaving? Sure. But it's the owner's fault the store is closing. They didn't want to build housing.
So what killed the store is their lack of imagination, and distaste to adapt and change along with Seattle.
It's not the property taxes.
12/end
So what killed the store is their lack of imagination, and distaste to adapt and change along with Seattle.
It's not the property taxes.
12/end
Postscript: ironically, the Hardwick Family probably would not have made $17M when they sold their land to a developer had it not been upzoned to support 24 floors of housing, offices, and/or retail.
So, no tears shed.
So, no tears shed.
