Opinion ID: 2124844
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 12

Heading: The Valuation Standard and Approach Used by the Assessor

Text: The assessor determined the value of Aztar's property by applying the reproduction cost approach based on the highest and best use standard. The reproduction cost method is appropriate, as discussed above, when the improvements are recent and the property is special use. Contrary to Aztar's assertions, the assessor did not directly include the value of the gaming license in the value of Aztar's real property. It is not possession of the gaming license that imbues Aztar's property with its highest and best use, it is the demand for a casino in the community and the physical attributes of the property that make it suitable to being developed to that use. In determining the highest and best use, the uses of the land for which it is reasonably adapted or suited may be considered, including a special adaptation to a particular use, having regard to the existing business wants of the community. Union Quarry & Construction Co., 394 S.W.2d at 305 (citations omitted). The special adaptation exists here because the property's location meets the requirement of article III, section 39(e) of the Missouri Constitution that a gaming facility be located in artificial spaces within 1,000 feet of the Mississippi or Missouri Rivers. In fact, based only on the suitability of the location as a gaming facility, Aztar acquired the property and invested over $12 million in improvements before acquiring the license to operate a casino. The assessor rightly used the property's highest and best use as a gaming facility when determining the true value in money of Aztar's real property.