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Norwalk's Grand List Drops, CL&P Remains City's Biggest Taxpayer

NORWALK, Conn. – Connecticut Light & Power and the Merritt 7 office park kept their spots as Norwalk’s top two taxpayers last year, according to the recently finalized 2013 Grand List.

The owners of the Merritt 7 office complex held their spot as Norwalk's second-highest taxpayer in 2013, according to the Grand List.

The owners of the Merritt 7 office complex held their spot as Norwalk's second-highest taxpayer in 2013, according to the Grand List.

Photo Credit: File

The annual Grand List is a sum of all property values, including real estate, personal property and motor vehicles as of Oct. 1, which will be used to calculate tax bills in July. The 2013 Grand List is approximately $11.96 billion, or 7.39 percent than it was in 2012, according to Tax Assessor Paula Kyriakides.

“The good news is there’s been a slight shift in the tax burden from residential to the commercial side, and hopefully with the developments that are moving forward, we’ll see that continue to happen more frequently,” Mayor Harry Rilling said on the changes to the Grand List last month.

Along with the Grand List, Kyriakides’ office also published the annual list of the city’s Top 25 taxpayers. CL&P’s various properties around the city had a total combined value of more than $335.9 million, down slightly from the $337.6 million it was worth in the 2012 grand list.

Merritt 7, now worth $222.6 million, kept its second-place position and top value among real estate properties by adding nearly $5 million in value over the last year.

The reason for the dramatic changes in value was the city’s 2013 Property Revaluation, which adjusted property values across Norwalk to account for changes in market trends since the last revaluation in 2008. After the total value of all Norwalk real estate dropped by $993 million, according to the Grand List.

After the top two positions, the taxpayer rankings saw some minor changes. The GE Capital Building’s $69 million value moved it up one spot to No. 3, pushing the MetLife building to fourth. Diageo North America’s Main Avenue building stayed in its position at No. 5.

The Xerox building, Yankee Gas, Avalon Bay, Norwalk Center and Pepperidge Farm's headquarters rounded out the top 10, respectively.

A new development also debuted in the Top 25 this year. The Avalon East Norwalk apartment complex, which began renting in 2013, was valued at more than $39.4 million. The value was good enough to make it the 12th-largest taxpayer in Norwalk.

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