County Fights Aberdeen Heights Over Bid for Tax Exemption

St. Louis County Assessor Jake Zimmerman said he is fighting efforts to avoid real estate and personal property taxes by the owners of a Kirkwood home for elderly residents.

Aberdeen Heights, an assisted living facility at 200 S Kirkwood Road, claims to be a religious institution, according to the release from Zimmerman's office. That would make it exempt from taxes.

Zimmerman called the facility "a luxury retirement community for affluent residents."

It "claims to be a religious institution," Zimmerman's statement said. "However, its actual economic activity is virtually indistinguishable from that of a for-profit business."

• See the complete statement from Zimmerman attached to this article.

A report on KSDK.com said the news station had investigated the claim to be a religious institution by Aberdeen Heights and that the statement from Zimmerman was a response to that story.

In a statement to KSDK, Bruce Shogren, president and CEO for Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America, the parent company of Aberdeen Heights, said the community is more than just a senior living community.

"Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America was granted a nonprofit tax exempt designation by the Internal Revenue Service," he said in the statement to KSDK. "As a nonprofit organization, we are able to provide a quality lifestyle for older adults in St. Louis County."

Do you think the retirement community should get exempt status?