Nashville business owners form coalition to fight rising property taxes

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — More than 100 Nashville business owners have formed a coalition, sending a letter to Mayor Freddie O’Connell and Davidson County Assessor Vivian Wilhoite asking for relief from rising property taxes tied to skyrocketing commercial property values.

The group says they are not trying to avoid taxes — but are seeking accountability and short-term solutions before more neighborhood businesses are forced to close.

Christian Paro, owner of Center 615 in East Nashville, is one of the business owners leading the effort. The shared workspace campus includes 92 suites, allowing companies to grow or downsize without relocating. A building across the street — home to Hawker’s restaurant — is also part of the Center 615 campus, with seven suites upstairs.

But years of challenges — including a tornado, the pandemic, and now rising property values — have put the business under serious financial strain.

“It’s based on a value of $13 million, okay? Taxes are around 145,000 per year here — just this building,” Paro said.

Paro says he hired a firm to represent him in appeals during previous reassessment cycles, but this year, a Board of Equalization member told him the property could be valued even higher — forcing his lawyers to drop the appeal entirely.

“I am late on, I think, about half of my bills now. I’ve only paid half of them. This one has not been paid,” Paro said.

The financial pressure is not limited to property owners. Some tenants, depending on their leases, are responsible for all operating expenses in addition to rent — including property taxes. The issue is already impacting thousands of property owners and tenants across the city.

“My heart sank when I heard that, and then that’s what propelled full-time work on the coalition,” Paro said.

In their letter, the coalition outlined several short-term requests: allowing businesses with pending appeals to pay last year’s tax rate until their case is heard; expanding the Board of Equalization to speed up the appeals process; and using income-based — rather than speculative — property valuations during hearings.

Mayor O’Connell responded to the coalition’s February letter, acknowledging concerns from local businesses impacted by the 2025 commercial reassessment cycle. However, he cited state law as the primary barrier to most of the coalition’s requests.

O’Connell said state law prohibits Metro from waiving or delaying property tax obligations. He noted that he has appointed or reappointed 13 individuals to the Board of Equalization to improve quorum attendance and hearing capacity, but added that state law prohibits two simultaneous boards, limiting how quickly the backlog can be addressed. His office is continuing to seek additional alternate board members.

The mayor also noted that Metro cannot require the Board of Equalization to use a single valuation method, though income-based data is one of three approaches the board may consider alongside sales comparison and cost methods.

O’Connell expressed willingness to continue the dialogue.

A bill moving through the Tennessee legislature could limit how much local governments are allowed to increase property taxes. Paro says the proposed cap would help — but does not address the underlying problem of rising assessed property values.

Paro does have the option to sell his property, but says he does not want to — and does not believe a sale would resolve the issue, given the $13 million assessed value.

“The question I’ve posed to the mayor’s office and the assessor’s office is, what about the people who want to continue doing business in their neighborhoods?” Paro said.

Without relief, some fear businesses may not survive — especially those not located on Lower Broadway.

This story was reported on-air by journalist Kelsey Gibbs and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.