Road construction and other governmental projects maybe generally for the good of the public and community as a whole; however, public improvements can be and often are a total disaster for existing businesses and property owners that are immediately adjacent or nearby.

One obvious example is the construction of a power plant, sanitary landfill or waste transfer facility. Adjacent businesses and residents can see their income and property values fall by as much as 35% during and after the installation of these facilities. And as for residential property owners, the construction impact is also felt along the roads that serve these facilities, due to increased traffic from large waste trucks regularly travelling through their neighborhoods.

The installation of high-voltage transmission lines (HVTL), natural gas and petroleum pipelines have also been shown to devalue properties across which they are imposed.

The most common way to devalue a business through public facility construction is, by far, the construction and/or expansion of roadways.

Highway construction projects can affect businesses in many ways. Even if a particular business is left virtually physically intact after the project is completed, it may have suffered many periods of declining revenues due to lengthy construction along the project route. Even when construction projects are of shorter term, many businesses are negatively impacted during construction as well as the recovery period.

Business by its very nature is competitive. If Business A is an “impulse buy” business location (e.g. gas station, convenience store, grocery, etc.), any inconvenience to its customers will result in some customers going to competing Business B. Even after the post-construction recovery period (which could be years), many of these customers will never return.

Destination oriented businesses will suffer as well, depending upon the level of competition within its customer base radius. Highway construction often causes a permanent loss of customers, revenue, and property value, as consumers find alternate businesses that are more convenient, less dusty, etcetera.

After construction, these businesses may be in the unenviable position of having highway frontage but bad access. Often, enhanced roadways will limit left turns both into and out of a business, either through roadway striping or through the installation of a median strip. Potential customers can experience significant frustration in accessing and departing from a business and simply choose to shop elsewhere. This leaves existing businesses on a beautiful new highway that is destroying their bottom line. And since commercial property value is largely based upon how successful the business/market is at a particular location, the market value of the property and improvements will suffer as well.

Business and property owners must often make long-range plans. Without a working knowledge of a government’s long-range intentions, they are operating in the blind. While Impact Check does not offer any legal services, it does provide an innovative tool to monitor and prepare for potentially value-impacting public improvement projects. An Impact Check Property Impact Report can give you advance knowledge and peace of mind.

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