The Rim shopping center on the city’s Northwest side has avoided a sticky situation with its retail tenants by writing a $1 million check to Bexar County, which may be the largest single delinquent property tax payment collected in the county’s history.
The high-fashion shopping center on IH-10 draws thousands of shoppers every day, but even with all that money changing hands, The Rim has been in tax trouble for at least four years.
Bexar County Tax Assessor-Collector Albert Uresti said the county could have foreclosed on the mega-shopping center, but having a big vacant lot of more than 20 years didn’t make sense.
"These taxes provide services for our citizens," Uresti said. "They provide education, they provide street improvements, provide public safety. All these needed services for our senior citizens, our disabled, our veterans and our children, and that's what's exciting about collecting this tax money."
Although Fourth Quarter Properties is listed as the property owner of The Rim, the company is broken up into different limited partnerships and the tax debt is reflected in 14 different accounts with Bexar County.
One of those partnerships last year got into hot water with Bass Pro Shops, which reportedly became concerned that The Rim’s debt would force them to find a different home.
"It's my understanding that the Bass Pro Shops has been redeemed now by Stan Thomas, by the owners, by Fourth Quarter Properties," Uresti said.
Recent reports indicate some of the vacant land owned by The Rim made it to the auction block before this week’s million-dollar down payment and agreement was ironed out for about $2 million that was remaining on the debt.
"They'll be paying it monthly and they'll be paying it for three years and part of the agreement requires the owners to remain current on any future taxes," Uresti said.
Uresti said the 2013 tax bills will go out Oct. 1 and Fourth Quarter Properties will have until Ja. 1 to pay that bill while remaining current on their monthly payments for the tax years of 2009 through 2012.
