The skyrocketing value of buildings in Ottawa's Wellington West neighbourhood has business owners fuming about a sudden property tax hike, which some plan to fight.

Ontario's Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) valued areas such as Hintonburg and Wellington West much higher in the fall of 2012 than in its previous assessment.

That has caused a rapid rise in the municipal property tax bill, set to arrive in June, for those who own a business or home by as much as 400 per cent. Tenants of those buildings could also take a hit as costs trickle down from landlords.

The head of the Wellington West Business Improvement Area, Randy Kemp, said his property tax bill went from about $9,000 per year up to $25,000 a year - an almost 200 per cent increase.

MPAC told him the value of his building has nearly tripled in four years, now sitting at an estimated value of $900,000.

"They can't justify it. The math is wrong," claimed Kemp, who led a meeting Wednesday evening with other area business owners.

"The $900,000 price tag that MPAC has put on that property is ludicrous. There's absolutely no way in the world that that property is worth near $900,000."

Glenn Lucas, who performs property tax reviews, was invited to attend the meeting.

He admitted the area has been under-assessed in recent years but the increase, he said, is too steep.

"Even if we had seen a 50 per cent increase in the properties here, I would have said, 'Well that's catch up,'" said Lucas. "But when you see 100 per cent increases, then that's not catch up anymore. That's just wrong."

Most business owners who attended the meeting said they planned to appeal the assessments, which they can do until the end of March.

Businesses claim developers who buy vacant properties in the area have contributed to a jump in property tax rates.