Top taxpayer in Warwick is a business model that used to work better. Can you name it?

Paul Edward Parker, The Providence Journal
·3 min read

WARWICK — Two malls, a high-end car dealer and a bunch of apartments top the list of the biggest taxpayers in Warwick.

A privately owned parking garage at Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport, a hub for delivery service UPS and several office buildings are also among the city's Top 30 taxpayers.

The list is sorted by the properties that pay the highest in taxes, so entities with many properties around the city, such as a utility company, might have a higher total tax bill but not be on the list. For Warwick, it proved challenging to determine what constituted a "property," so some arbitrary distinctions had to be drawn. As an example, the tax bill shown here for Warwick Mall includes the mall building itself, plus several detached buildings surrounding it.

1. Warwick Mall, 400 Bald Hill Rd. — $2,203,748

One of the last traditional suburban shopping malls in the area, Warwick Mall tops the list, eclipsing its Bald Hill Road neighbor, the Rhode Island Mall. It was assessed at $79,668,500.

2. Rhode Island Mall, 650 Bald Hill Rd. — $1,788,891

Officially known today as Midland Commons, and once known as Midland Mall, it is known to generations of Rhode Islanders as the Rhode Island Mall — even though it technically isn't a mall anymore. Known in retail parlance as a "power center," it is a collection of big-box stores with separate external entrances and no interior concourse linking the stores. The BJ's Market — in the Rhode Island dialect, where Toys 'R' Us used to be — is a separate property, not included in the mall's taxes. It was assessed at $63,661,600.

3. Briarwood Meadows, 940 Quaker Lane — $1,389,469

This apartment complex was assessed at $49,447,300.

4. Inskip Automotive, 1517 Bald Hill Rd. — $1,323,923

This collection of high-end car dealerships — including Audi, Lexus, Porsche and Mercedes-Benz — was assessed at $47,114,700.

5. Royal Crest Apartments, 42 Cedar Pond Rd. — $1,134,366

This apartment complex was assessed at $40,368,900.

The rest of the list:

6. Cowesett Hills Apartments, 3595 Post Rd. — $1,083,2047. Met Life, 700 Quaker Lane — $987,3168. Villa Del Rio Apartments, 303 Old Greenwich Ave. — $880,1969. Cowesett Corners, 300 Quaker Lane — $816,70710. Bald Hill Place, 1245 Bald Hill Rd. — $734,19411. Marketplace Center, 1500 Bald Hill Rd. — $712,65512. Warwick Centre, 1350 Bald Hill Rd. — $590,10013. Crowne Plaza, 801 Greenwich Ave. — $546,60114. Red Beam Garage, 1960 Post Rd. — $533,64115. Lowe's, 555 Greenwich Ave. — $533,49516. Greenwich Farms at Warwick, 75 Minnesota Ave. — $414,67717. Ortho Rhode Island, 300 Crossings Blvd. — $402,86118. Metro Center II, 475 Kilvert St. — $402,41219. Offices at the Crossings, 100 Crossings Blvd. — $387,00220. Quaker Commons, 444 Quaker Lane — $375,52321. Picerne Meadowbrook, 2400 Warwick Ave. — $364,09722. Walmart, 840 Post Rd. — $339,30523. Lowe's, 510 Quaker Lane — $325,58324. Greenwich Village Apartments, 300 Lambert Lind Highway — $319,64625. The Summit Warwick Executive Park, 250 Centerville Rd. — $319,19626. Home Depot, 80 Universal Blvd. — $317,85027. Fairfax Village Apartments, 900 Post Rd. — $316,48728. Former Ann & Hope, 1689 Post Rd. — $312,75929. UPS, 150 Plan Way — $306,63630. Sparrows Point II & III, 355 Hardig Rd. — $294,485

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Warwick's taxpays: 30 highest property taxpayers in Warwick RI