Medina? For homes, it can't be finer

Bill Gates may own the most-expensive house in King County by far, but new tax-assessment figures show that he fits right in in his neighborhood.

Medina, according to county-assessor records, is now home to six of the 10 most-expensive residential properties in the county, worth a total of $182,309,000.

Gates's massive new house on Lake Washington accounts for the lion's share of that, at $109.5 million - not only the highest-valued residential property in the county, but the 17th-highest-valued overall, commercial property included. By comparison, the Westin Hotel in downtown Seattle is valued at $98.8 million.

But the Microsoft chairman's neighbors are no slouches.

They include contact-lens entrepreneur Peter LaHaye, whose house and land are valued at $22.4 million, and Microsoft executive Charles Simonyi, whose property is worth $17.7 million. LaHaye died in December.

"It certainly keeps the city budget healthy," said Medina City Manager Doug Schulze, whose city depends on property taxes for 45 percent of its income. "Because of this, we are able to keep the tax rate relatively low."

Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft with Gates, has the second- and third-most-expensive residential properties in the county, but he lives on Mercer Island. His two houses are valued at $44.8 million and $25.4 million.

The county's new figures show that the total tax base in King County went up 10.6 percent from last year, to $166.3 billion. The taxes collected this year will only be 7.4 percent higher than last year.

Glen Lee, a manager with Seattle's Budget Office, said the state restricts the overall amount of money that cities can collect from property taxes, and new increases in the tax rates now must be approved by elections. What this means is that when values go up, higher taxes don't automatically follow.

But he said the higher values will make it easier to sell taxes to voters because cities will have more capacity for bonds and for other ways to raise money for projects.

"People now have more opportunities if they want to tax themselves," Lee said.

King County Assessor Scott Noble said property values still are going up because of the strength of the county's economy.

And while many residential properties have seen explosive increases, commercial properties - particularly in places such as downtown Seattle - are experiencing their own dramatic rises.

The top five most-expensive taxable properties in the county are downtown Seattle office towers. Collectively, their value went up $160 million from last year's assessment, or about 14.4 percent, a testament to the commercial boom gripping the city and the high demand for office space.

The top-valued commercial property in the county is the 76-story Bank of America Tower at 411 Columbia St. This year, it went up $67.7 million dollars in value, or 23.5 percent, for a new tax assessment of $356,088,000.

The property-value figures also show how much land the county can't tax - and how valuable it is. Exempt or tax-restricted property includes government land or land with a mandated low tax rate, such as open space.

"Assessors are concerned nationally about exemptions," Noble said.

Washington exempts about $20.7 billion from property taxes, more than its two-year budget of $20.6 billion, Noble said.

Some examples: The biggest, most-expensive chunk of property in Seattle and King County is owned by the University of Washington, valued at about $794,037,900. After that is Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, at $706,967,300, and Safeco Field is valued at $491,840,000. None of these are taxed.

And one of the lowest-taxed pieces of property in the county is a lot of 6,789 square feet owned by the Covington Green Association in Maple Valley. It is valued at $20 because it is a legal piece of guaranteed open space.

Its tax bill? Twenty-nine cents.

Roberto Sanchez's phone-message number is 206-464-8522. His e-mail address is rsanchez@seattletimes.com

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Top 10 valued residential properties in King County

Based on theri taxable-value

1) 1835 73rd Ave. NE., Medina.

Owner: Bill Gates.

Value: $109,500,000.

2) 6555 W. Mercer Wy., Mercer Island.

Owner: Paul Allen.

Value: $44,829,000

3) 6451 W. Mercer Wy., Mercer Island.

Owner: Paul Allen.

Value: $25,407,000

4) 801 Evergreen Point Rd., Medina

Owner: Peter and Sandra Lahaye,

Value: $22,420,000

5) 120 Lake Washington Blvd. E., Seattle

Owner: Lake Washington 1991 Trust.

Value: $19,726,000

6) 111 84th Ave. NE., Medina.

Owner: Charles Simonyi.

Value: $17,696,000

7) 8925 Groat Point Dr. Medina.

Owner: Intestate Revocable Trust.

Value: $11,965,000

8) 4450 Hunts Point Rd., Bellevue.

Owner: Margaret Kelley.

Value: $11,260,000

9) 7777 Overlake Dr. W., Medina.

Owner: William Reed Jr.

Value: $10,806,000

10) 7733 Overlake Dr. W., Medina

Owner: Westhaven Trust.

Value: $9,922,000