Michael J. Caccavelli is a Member of the Sills Cummis & Gross Real Estate Department, in which he chairs the Property Taxation and Eminent Domain Practice Group. His practice covers all aspects of local property taxation, with extensive experience litigating complex commercial real estate tax appeals on behalf of property owners in every asset class. These cases have involved office campuses, hotels, manufacturing facilities, power generation plants, regional malls, warehouses, data centers, and golf courses. In the case of casinos, Mr. Caccavelli served as lead trial counsel for the City of Atlantic City, NJ in a real estate tax appeal filed by the Sands Casino Hotel, which was the first published case in the nation to comprehensively address casino valuation.
Beyond property tax challenges, Mr. Caccavelli regularly advises clients, including developers, institutional owners, and lenders, on the property tax implications of purchase and sale transactions, especially during due diligence exercises. He also handles property tax exemption matters for religious, educational, charitable, hospital, assisted living, and nursing home properties, as well as farmland assessments and farmland roll-back tax issues.
Mr. Caccavelli’s property taxation practice is complemented by his experience in eminent domain and condemnation matters, representing private clients in all phases of condemnation proceedings. Notably, his past experience included the coordination of a right-of-way acquisition effort for the New Jersey Turnpike Authority’s Interchanges 6-9 Widening Project, involving the taking of more than 320 properties for a 35-mile roadway expansion.
In addition, Mr. Caccavelli’s practice extends to the property valuation aspects of redevelopment projects as well as the redevelopment process itself, from preliminary investigations to redevelopment area designations. He has secured countless long and short term tax abatement agreements (also known as payment in lieu of tax or “PILOT” agreements) and assists with urban enterprise zone qualifications. Mr. Caccavelli is actively engaged in the public policy discourse surrounding this evolving legal area and has been involved in the drafting of legislation amending the Long Term Tax Exemption Law and the Redevelopment Area Bond Law.
Representative Cases
- 3 University Plaza SPE, LLC v. Hackensack City, 32 N.J. Tax 494 (N.J. Tax 2022)
- I-78 Logistics Park Lopatcong Urban Renewal, LLC v. Lopatcong Twp., 2021 WL 3124029 (Tax 2021)
- ARE-279 Princeton Rd. v. Twp. of E. Windsor, 2016 WL 2604839 (N.J. Tax 2016)
- Leger v. Director, Division of Taxation, 29 N.J. Tax 354 (Tax 2016)
- 1145 Towbin Ave., LLC v. Lakewood Tp., 2012 WL 4465371 (N.J. Tax 2012)
- AHS Hosp. Corp. v. Town of Morristown, 25 N.J. Tax 374 (Tax 2010)
- City of Atlantic City v. Ace Gaming, LLC, 23 N.J. Tax 70 (Tax 2006)
- County of Essex v. Rubin, 2011 WL 2496222 (App. Div. 2011)
- New Jersey Turnpike Authority v. Witt, 2010 WL 2795077 (App. Div. 2010)
- Center for Molecular Medicine and Immunology v. Township of Belleville, 357 N.J. Super. 41 (App. Div. 2003)
Representative Matters
- Obtained a reduction in assessment of newly constructed distribution warehouse resulting in tax savings of more than $264,000 per year.
- Negotiated a reduction in tax assessment of the defunct Newark Bears minor league baseball stadium from $60M to $17M.
- Obtained a reduction of more than $7.2M of the real state tax assessment for transformer facility located in Ridgefield, New Jersey.
- Coordinated a right-of-way acquisition effort for the New Jersey Turnpike Authority’s Interchanges 6-9 Widening Project, involving the taking of more than 320 properties for a 35-mile roadway expansion.
- Negotiated a 30-year PILOT for a 539,000 SF distribution warehouse in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
- Procured a 30-year PILOT for the construction of a new 540 MW power plant in the Sewaren section of Woodbridge, New Jersey.
- Renegotiated a PILOT to reduce the annual payment to a municipality by nearly 50% on a 285,000 SF retail center.
- Reduced the annual PILOT on a 225 MW coal-fired power plant from $1.96 million to $650,000.
- Served as lead counsel to the NY Red Bulls in the negotiation and implementation of a settlement transaction resolving litigation pending in the New Jersey Supreme Court concerning the tax exempt status of Red Bull Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey. The transaction facilitated a prospective property tax exemption for the stadium and the implementation of a PILOT via the use of the County Improvement Authorities Law enabling the client to achieve substantial prospective annual property tax savings.