In In re Appeal of Appalachian Student Housing Corp., 165 N.C. App. 379, 384, 598 S.E.2d 701, 704 (2004), the Court determined that a housing complex, owned by a non-profit corporation and operated for the benefit of a state university, "belonged to" the state for the purposes of N.C. Gen. Stat. 105-278.1(b). In reaching this conclusion, the Appalachian Court held: Neither the North Carolina Constitution nor G.S. 105-278.1(b) require the State to have legal title in order to exempt the property from taxation. Nor do we find persuasive Watauga County's argument that the ad valorem tax exemption law of North Carolina applies only to exempt property to which the taxpayer holds legal title. Id. at 388, 598 S.E.f2d at 706.