Jim Black's vacant lot

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 07:58:47 -0400

A vacant lot could keep Jim Black from more prison time.

The disgraced former House speaker has put an empty 1.6-acre parcel near downtown Matthews for sale. He's asking for $950,000 — just $50,000 less than the amount he needs to pay a Superior Court fine to avoid more prison time.

Black bought the land from BB&T in 1994 with childhood friend Kenneth Outen. A few months later, he bought out Outen's half.

An investigation by The Charlotte Observer revealed that Mecklenburg County has undervalued the land. The town of Matthews failed to notify the county when it rezoned the property as commercial, which should have boosted its assessment.

County Assessor Garrett Alexander said he would seek the $7,200 in back taxes Black saved since the last reassessment in 2000. (Char-O)

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Jim Black's vacant lot