Taxes on Portland parking, storage units skyrocketed. Why?

Timing of the tax hikes have condo owners suspicious

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Ray Bodwell owns a condo in Portland’s Benson Tower. Usually he pays about $1,000 per month in property taxes.

“The property taxes on the condos are very high,” Bodwell told KOIN 6 News.

When his condo’s value fell more than 20% this year, he expected a break—until the county raised his parking and storage real market values by nearly 70%.

“The reactions would range from ‘That’s got to be a huge mistake’ to, ‘I think they’re trying to pull a fast one here,'” he said. “So we started calling the tax office.”

KOIN 6 News found the same thing in Pearl District condos like The Cosmopolitan—home values are down 20-30%, yet parking and storage values nearly doubled.

Multnomah County Assessor Mike Vaughn said, “it’s not a mistake.”

He said the explanation of the spike is simpler; the county hadn’t updated those accounts in a decade. Their goal this year was to match current market values while keeping overall taxes about the same.

His team of 38 assessors oversees 300,000 accounts. Since it’s impossible to review each one individually, they rely on statistical modeling to do the math.

Vaughn said parking and storage are part of the condo’s total price—even if they’re taxed separately. Even with the increased taxes on their parking and storage spaces, he stresses the condo owners did see a slight decrease in their overall tax bill.

But the timing has condo owners suspicious. They point out the hike comes just as property tax revenue from downtown businesses plummeted.

A prime example is Big Pink (the US Bancorp Tower), where according to property records taxes fell from $2.7 million to $860,000. KOIN 6 News also found major Portland properties—like Montgomery Park, Wells Fargo Center, PacWest Center, and Powell’s Books—have all lost significant value. Collectively, these five properties represent $5.3 million in lost property tax revenue.

Vaughn said he understands why condo owners are suspicious or skeptical of the hikes.

“I get it,” he said. “I mean, I pay taxes just like you do. Values are going down, so I can appreciate that.”

Vaughn maintains downtown condos have held their value better than office buildings. He admits the tax bills look confusing and said the county should have explained the changes sooner. He thinks the long delay in reassessing downtown units parking and storage led to this sticker shock.

Real estate broker and appraiser Steve Anderson said he’s gotten the same calls from numerous condominium owners.

“I’ve got tar-and-feathers going on right now on the streets on this one issue,” Anderson said. “But the burden of proof is on us, not on them. They can say that parking space is worth $1 million, and you have to prove them wrong.”

And the way to prove them wrong, he said, is “common sense.”

“The problem with parking spaces is that, let’s face it, downtown Portland does not have a parking demand like it did before,” Anderson said.

A handful of parking garage owners he represents have reported 50% vacancy rates this year.

KOIN 6 News obtained PBOT records that show a similar story. Average weekday peak occupancy across all five SmartPark garages has fallen dramatically since 2018-2019.

Back then, garages averaged between 85% and 96% full each month. In the current fiscal year (2024-2025), occupancy ranges from just 36% to 52%, with the busiest months, May and June, still at only about half capacity compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Meanwhile, Bodwell said both his parking spots have ‘had its taxes go up by 47%” and his storage unit has “also seen a 47% increase in property tax.”

He said he feels like he’s being taxed through the back door.

Property owners can dispute a tax bill with a formal tax appeal process or by calling the tax office.

Multnomah County reports tax appeals are up more than 80% since 2018. So far in 2025, there have been about 1,300 tax appeals.

Ray Bodwell was considering appealing.

But after KOIN 6 News interviewed Bodwell and the county assessor, Multnomah County lowered Bodwell’s parking and storage tax bill. However, Bodwell said the office didn’t do the same for some of his neighbors who made the request.

“We were attempting to help taxpayers understand their bills related to this issue and make adjustments we believe are appropriate,” Vaughn said. “We have a line out the door, which is common this time of year. Our priority is to get the payments handled and then address problems with accounts afterwards.”