MAINE MONITOR • February 27, 2022
Known as the “dark store” theory, the argument being made by retailers is that their open, bustling stores are equivalent to ones that failed and closed. Companies argue that the stores are so specially designed that they are functionally obsolete nearly as soon as they are built, and will lose much of their value as soon as the retailer leaves. Corporate attorneys are deploying the strategy in an effort to slash property taxes, often by hundreds of thousands of dollars, in communities around the country. Since 2015, large retailers have succeeded in lowering the valuation of their properties by more than $16 million in communities from Biddeford to Bangor, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost income to municipalities. A slow-moving state appeals board doesn’t help.