FORT ERIE SPEEDWAY LIKELY TO BRING PROPERTY
VALUES CRASHING DOWN
VALUES CRASHING DOWN
Property values in Fort Erie will likely plummet due to the effect of a speedway on the local environment, according to staff at the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation‟s Toronto Office. The Canadian Motor Speedway is a proposed development which would attract 60,000 to 100,000 participants to NASCAR-style racing events in the midst of a community of 30,000.
Concerned local resident and home owner, Susan Speck, has diligently amassed data which supports the correlation between a speedway and decreased property values; and recently brought her findings to the attention of the Citizens Coalition of Greater Fort Erie. According to Ms. Speck, “This occurrence is commonly called "Property Stigmatization‟ and is associated with health, environmental or investment risks.” She learned that property stigmatization “may be due to natural hazards and aesthetic disamentities; social conditions such as the crime rate; and infrastructure conditions with potentially obnoxious characteristics such as nearby highways, airports, industrial facilities, and racetracks.”
This reality is echoed by real estate professionals in both the United States and locally. “Everybody living within five miles or more . . . will have their property values decreased by 50 percent or maybe more,” said Realtor Robinson Leach, recounting his experience selling property in the small town of Lakeville, CT; adjacent to Lime Rock Raceway. “The experience of selling homes around our local auto race track for over 30 years bears me out on all my opinions.” Local real estate agents concur that noise and traffic congestion are known irritants that will decrease property values; and the Appraisal Institute of Canada concurs that “Diminution in value to a property is a result of buyer resistance which may be real or perceived”, and it follows that the public perceives health risks and other stigmas associated with close proximity to site which generates noise and air pollutants. More...
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