Miami-Dade County’s property appraiser, Tomas Regalado, has initiated legal action against 17 property owners after their market valuations were reduced in 2024, resulting in lower tax bills. The lawsuits were filed over two days in late July and target a range of high-profile development sites and commercial properties.
Defendants include major real estate investment firms such as Blackstone, Simon Property Group, Royal Caribbean Group, Prologis, KAR Properties, Midtown Development, Swire Properties, Melo Group, and RER Ventures. These companies own significant assets across Miami-Dade County.
The current approach to challenging reductions in property values through litigation began under former appraiser Pedro Garcia. Regalado noted that he is less aggressive than his predecessor: “Last year, my predecessor filed 65 cases,” Regalado told The Real Deal. “We only filed 17 this year. The bottom line is that we are diminishing the number of cases that this agency used to file.”
Regalado said the recent reductions granted by the Miami-Dade Value Adjustment Board for these properties went too far. He added that his staff had started settlement negotiations with 10 owners before filing suit. “Still, the 17 property owners his office is suing ‘got a huge discount,’ and ‘they should not have received that kind of reduction,’” Regalado said.
Among those responding to requests for comment was Shahab Karmely, CEO of KAR Properties. His firm is being sued over a Miami River assemblage in Brickell. Karmely commented on broader issues with valuation methods: “We have this unfortunate pattern where the value of raw land that produces no income is arbitrarily increased,” Karmely said. “It’s not something that can be mathematically justified.” He argued that rising interest rates and construction costs are often overlooked by appraisers when valuing undeveloped land.
“Every year that passes, they are like, ‘We are going to tax you more,’” Karmely said. “We have all these headwinds, but somehow these parcels are worth more. I wish that was the case, but it is not.”
Regalado acknowledged some agreement with Karmely’s points but maintained that the extent of recent valuation cuts was excessive: “My commitment is to make sure that our team looks at a property’s income, looks at market conditions and tries to settle cases for the benefit of the owners,” Regalado said. “And if they prevail in court, we’re going to respect the decision. We will not appeal at all.”
Properties named in the lawsuits include Cruise Terminal A (owned by an affiliate of Royal Caribbean), Dolphin Mall (owned by affiliates of Simon Property Group), a portfolio of industrial sites held by Blackstone’s Link Logistics division primarily located in Doral, multiple development parcels owned by Midtown Development and partners including Rosso Development for projects like Midtown Park Residences by Proper condo tower; Swire Properties’ former site on Brickell Avenue now sold to Melo Group; Melo Group’s Aria Reserve site; KAR Properties’ planned Faena Residences project; RER Ventures’ sites in Coral Gables and Kendall; and a Hialeah warehouse owned by Prologis.
If successful in court or through settlements negotiated prior or during litigation proceedings, Miami-Dade could see higher taxable values assigned to these properties—potentially leading to larger tax bills for their owners.
