Report: Tax-Exempt Property Up In Worcester
Worcester is home to $4.4 billion worth of tax-exempt property, according to a new report by the Worcester Regional Research Bureau, unveiled today.
The report, Worcester by the Numbers: Housing and Land Use, details findings about the city’s housing market, property taxes and land use. According to the report, the value of Worcester’s taxable property was $12.7 billion at its peak in 2008 and has dropped to $10.9 billion. The bureau found said tax-exempt property in the city accounted for 28.9 percent of property in 2013, up from 28.34 percent last year. Yet, there had been a significant jump from 21.43 percent in 2011, which the bureau said was due to citywide property revaluations.
The city, state and federal governments own 52 percent of the tax-exempt property in the city, according to the report said. That includes 1,215 acres of park land made up of 53 parks.
Meanwhile, nonprofit organizations own 840 acres of land and account for 11.5 percent of the non-exempt total. Private schools own 9.6 percent of tax-free land, which is nearly 700 acres, and religious institutions own 562 acres, or 7.7 percent.
The report also said Worcester’s commercial and industrial tax rate of $30.85 per $1,000 of valuation is the highest of all adjacent communities, followed by Auburn’s rate of $23.43. It also found that Worcester’s residential rate of $18.58 per $1,000 of valuation is the second highest behind Paxton’s $19.22. Within the last two years, the City Council has narrowed the gap between the resident and commercial/industrial rates as part of a strategy to draw more business to Worcester. Business groups led by the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce had been lobbying the city for such a change.
The research bureau report also said nearly 89 percent of land parcels in Worcester are zoned for residential use, accounting for 46.4 percent of the city’s land total, the report said. And, there are 2,232 parcels of commercial land, nearly 5 percent of the city’s land, and 593 industrial properties, 1.3 percent of city land.
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