Michigan Appeals Court Revives Meijer’s ‘Dark Store’ Tax Argument

Superstore chain Meijer Inc. convinced the Michigan Court of Appeals to reinstate its challenge to the property tax valuation of its big box store in Flat Rock.

The Michigan Tax Tribunal didn’t properly take the obsolete design of the store, what’s known as functional obsolescence, into account when determining the true cash value of the property for tax years 2016 and 2017, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled in an unsigned, unpublished opinion.

Meijer argued the store should be valued as if it were vacant and available to sell to a future property owner, who would have to reconfigure the ...