In a city known for its glistening marble buildings, and (for locals) the teeming hoards of people who come from across the country to look at them, one building stands out as the richest and most fabulous.
Oh, it's not the Capitol. No, not even the White House. It's Nationals Park -- at least says D.C.'s Real Property Administration.
Their latest batch of assessments says that the park is worth $999,982,800. Apparently, they don't discount for the quality of tenant.
The White House came in a few million less. The Capitol came in about $500 million less. OK, maybe they do discount for the quality of tenant.
The city says that $489 million of the assessment is from the building itself. Nats owner Ted Lerner -- who withheld rent for months while claiming that the building was not complete -- might disagree. He mostly wishes he could cash out some of that equity.
But Uncle Teddy didn't pay for the building. The good people of D.C. (and the ticket-buying carpetbaggers from Maryland and VA) did.
And because it's a public building, D.C. isn't getting a single taxable cent of the $18.5 million tax revenue that a similarly assessed private structure would generate.
It appears, though, that the park has been a catalyst for the neighborhood. Near Southeast Uber-Blogger JD Land notes that the overall assessment for the ballpark's neighborhood have skyrocketed.
The total neighborhood's tax value has gone up by almost $1.5 billion in the last year. It's climbed to over $6 billion from about $900 million when the team first moved here in 2005.
While many debate whether spending public money on private luxuries like this is good policy, in this case, the pro-side's argument that it would help revitalize the neighborhood certainly seem to be coming true.
Just don't hold your breath for the tourist-filled moonlight tram tours of the ballpark.
Chris Needham used to write Capitol Punishment. He's had enough ballpark food to offset a chunk of the park's costs.
