Infrastructure AcquisitionProperty acquisition is often a public relations and political nightmare for the acquiring authority. Property owners in Atlantic Canada have a deep distrust of governments and corporations intent on acquiring their property … or rights over or in it. In part this is justified by past and current practice which frequently lacks professional valuation knowledge, clarity, transparency, respect and technical knowledge of the acquisition’s impact on the property owner’s interest.
In parts of the region cultural, historical and linguistic factors foster antipathy to “big” government or business … an insurmountable barrier which is frequently reinforced by the acquiring authority’s well meaning attempt to present themselves as a reincarnated “human face”.
We are well aware of the forces which combine to create this atmosphere of suspicion and mistrust: we frequently act for private property owners. However it can be successfully eliminated by utilising a third party company that has the property owner’s respect and trust; provided that their approach is professional, open, transparent and addresses the property owner’s concerns in a respectful, timely and knowledgeable manner.
We have been able to successfully and amicably conclude negotiations in situations where the level of antipathy provoked by the acquiring authority’s actions have escalated to virtual warfare in the media, over the internet and by signage on the impacted properties.
We may be able to save the acquiring authority millions of dollars on infrastructure projects if we are retained at the planning stage.
It is common in Europe to factor in property compensation with the engineering cost when choosing the optimum route for the right of way. In Atlantic Canada new roads, or realignment of existing streets, electrical transmission lines and pipeline corridors are frequently designed to optimise engineering objectives without regard to property issues. Realignment of a few feet may substantially mitigate the acquiring authority’s liability for property compensation and business loss without measurably increasing engineering costs.
Between our various Divisions (Counselling, Valuation, Economic Intelligence/GIS, Planning, Property Tax, Lasercad® Space Measurement, Brokerage), we bring a diverse wealth of expertise and experience to bear in support of your project:
