How an antenna nearly cost a Boston church its land
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Global Ministries Christian Church in Dorchester. Photo: Steph Solis/Axios
A Dorchester church unwittingly racked up nearly $200,000 in property taxes after leasing T-Mobile space for an antenna, according to court records.
Why it matters: It's not uncommon for companies and nonprofits to lease space to telecommunications companies for antennas — and then face surprise tax bills.
The big picture: It's not just in Boston.
- AirWave research, a Lincoln-based company that advises these landlords, estimates that telecommunications companies avoid paying more than $2.4 billion a year in taxes, despite their leases saying they're on the hook.
Driving the news: For Global Ministries Christian Church (GMCC), it took a lawsuit accusing T-Mobile of violating its lease to get a resolution.
- After months in court, GMCC and T-Mobile reached a deal where the wireless carrier agreed to settle the debt with the City of Boston, says AirWave CEO Steve Kropper, who advised GMCC during the process.
- Neither GMCC's Pastor, Bruce Wall, nor City of Boston attorney Kevin Foley returned requests for comment. Kropper told Axios the church and city agreed not to discuss the terms of the settlement.
Zoom in: GMCC leased space above its steeple to T-Mobile for an antenna in 2003, per court documents.
- The city started assessing taxes on the lease in 2015, but the church didn't see any of the tax bills until 2023, per court documents.
- The reason: The city mistakenly sent the tax bill to another address.
- The first tax bill GMCC saw was six figures. By late 2024, it had reached $177,000.
Threat level: GMCC, unable to afford the bill, faced the possibility of the city seizing its land.
- So the church filed suit against the wireless carrier, saying its tenant was on the hook for the taxes.
Friction point: T-Mobile argued the church didn't notify it about the taxes in a timely manner and that it was never obligated to pay them.
- Instead, T-Mobile argued, it was up to the church to request reimbursement.
State of play: T-Mobile and the church reached a settlement this summer, with T-Mobile agreeing to cover the back taxes, Kropper says.
- The city ultimately let GMCC keep its property.
- T-Mobile's antenna, meanwhile, no longer sits above the church. The company removed it in 2024.
Zoom out: Kropper says he's found roughly 400 commercial property owners with taxes stemming from a telecommunications lease, including hospitals, universities and other churches.
- AirWave research estimates these landlords are owed a collective $7 million a year.
- Landlords often don't realize they're being taxed on the equipment and that their leases require their tenant to pay or reimburse them.
- Those who do sometimes still struggle to get reimbursed, says Kropper, who says he has worked on thousands of these agreements at AirWave.
- That's why he's looking into other cases like GMCC's. "We aim to fix that."