WASHINGTON: The District of Columbia government has downgraded a historic building owned by the Embassy of Pakistan due to its dilapidated condition.
The old, and now dilapidated, building owned by the Pakistani government has been up for sale for the past few months. However, the reduction also inevitably increased taxes on the assessed value of the property.
According to official documents available to JEE News, local officials have changed the class status of the property, which is located on Washington’s famous R Street. In the past, the building was a chancery and was put up for auction late last year.
The entire bidding process was later canceled by the Pakistani authorities. The highest bidder offered $6.8 million for the property, which is located downtown. The building’s pre-auction appraisal on an “as is” basis was set at $4.5 million as a benchmark.
The building has been vacant for over a decade. The building’s diplomatic status was also revoked in 2018, making it liable to pay taxes to the local government.
The real estate classification, according to building codes, is listed here:
- Class 1 – improved residential real property occupied and used exclusively for non-temporary residential purposes;
- Class 2 – Commercial property;
- Class 3 – vacant property;
- Class 4 – Bad property.
Official documents from the District of Columbia show that the Pakistani government has not received any tax relief on the property since 2018. The building was previously classified as Class 2 as it was commercial in 2018 and 2019. It was then placed in Class 3 as it was vacant for three years from 2020 to 2022.
Late last month, the building’s property classification was further downgraded and is now class 4 due to its dilapidated condition.
A local government building department designates a building as dilapidated if it is unsafe, dilapidated or otherwise a threat to the health, safety or general welfare of the community.
The Building Department makes the decision based on the following factors:
- Is the building boarded up?
- Are doors, windows, and other weather openings tight and secure?
- Are exterior walls free of holes, graffiti and decaying material?
- Are all exposed metal and wood surfaces protected from decay by paint, or another weather coating material?
- Are all balconies, porches, signs, and similar features safe and sound?
It is also worth noting that Class 3 is taxed at $5 per $100 and Class 4 is taxed at $10.00 per $100. The Pakistani embassy will have to pay more tax on the permanently depreciated property.
As it was not properly maintained, the building ended up in a dilapidated state although in 2010 the then Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani approved repairs through a $7 million loan from the National Bank of Pakistan.
JEE News contacted the Pakistani embassy for comment, but did not receive a response till the time of filing this report.
