The sign for Carson Valley Plaza south of Topsy.
The commercial development on either side of Topsy Lane in northern Douglas County was designed to be a lifeline should Nevada’s wealthier and more powerful counties decide they weren’t willing to subsidize other rural counties that didn’t generate sufficient sales tax to support themselves.
Conceived in the wake of the 1991 “Fair Share” debate between Washoe and Clark counties at the Legislature, Douglas officials feared that it would only be a matter of time before the Las Vegas lawmakers would seek to eliminate the subsidy.
By the end of the 20th Century, the mostly sagebrush covered land near the Carson-Douglas line was being transformed into a shopping Mecca.
But two decades after big box stores filled Carson Valley Plaza, the project south of Walmart sought a roughly $10 million reduction in its assessed value due to a 23 percent vacancy.
National bankruptcies claimed stores like Borders and Bed, Bath and Beyond, and other outlets that were lured to the shopping center decided to return to Carson City.
“Actual income does not support assigned value,” a representative of Carson Valley Center LLC wrote.
The center reported that it had received $3.6 million for the period ending Dec. 31, 2023, in rental income and claimed a loss of $670,259, according to documents submitted to the Douglas County Board of Examiners. Fourteen of the 47 units in the center are vacant.
The appeal was based on the center's reduced income, but it incorrectly included property taxes as an expense, Assessor Trent
Tholen said.
"We utilize income frequently to help establish a fair market value on particular properties," Tholen said. "What is not allowed under Nevada Administrative Code is for property taxes paid to be used as an allowable expense, as the petitioner was doing when they were trying to justify a lower value. They used property taxes as an allowable expense, then used a higher-than-market capitalization rate to try and artificially lower their overall value."
Board of Equalization denied the request, leaving the value at $42 million.
But the popularity of online shopping, which in the end was what granted Douglas the independence it sought, might also erode taxable sales generation from developments like Carson Valley Plaza.
On Thursday, the Nevada Department of Taxation released taxable sales figures for December, which includes the Christmas shopping season.
While general merchandise stores, like the Walmarts and Targets, recaptured their crown from nonstore retailers like Amazon, it wasn’t by much.
According to the state, box stores generated $14.63 million in taxable sales up 1.5 percent from December 2022. Sales of $68.4 million was essentially flat for the first half of the fiscal year, which started July 1.
Meanwhile, nonstore retailers generated $13.4 million in the month and $70.98 million for the first half of the year, a 22 percent increase over the previous year.
