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Commercial property and eminent domain in Florida

Retail, office and industrial sites, where access and parking carry more value than the ground.

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On a commercial site the land itself is rarely the point. Value sits in visibility, in how easily customers and deliveries reach the site, in the parking count and in how vehicles circulate once they arrive.

A highway project that takes a narrow strip of frontage can leave the building untouched and still reduce what the property is worth, because it has changed every one of those things. In Florida it may also give rise to a separate claim for damage to the business trading there.

The short answer

Examine access, parking count and circulation before you examine the price per square foot. Then ask whether business damages are in play, because Florida allows them where most states do not.

What to check on a commercial take

How many parking spaces are lost?

Parking counts frequently tie to planning requirements. Dropping below a threshold can affect what the site may lawfully be used for.

Does the entrance still work?

A relocated or narrowed entrance changes how traffic reaches the site, and for retail that is close to the whole asset.

Will a median close your left turn?

Losing inbound turns from one direction can halve the catchment without taking additional land.

Can delivery vehicles still circulate?

Trucks need turning room. A take that removes it may make the site unusable for its current occupier.

What does the appraisal assume about cure?

Appraisals sometimes assume a fix such as re-striping. Test whether it is practical and whether its cost was counted.

Is a business of standing operating here?

Section 73.071(3)(b) conditions include the business having been established more than five years where the taking occurs on or after 1 January 2005.

Frequently asked questions

The building was not touched. Am I still owed anything?

Very possibly. Florida requires full compensation, and a frontage take harming access, parking and visibility reduces the value of the property even though no structure was acquired.

How is lost parking valued?

Through its effect on the value and usability of what remains, which is what the severance analysis is for.

Can I claim for lost trade?

Section 73.071(3)(b) allows business damages in defined circumstances. This is one of the clearest ways Florida differs from most states, and it is easily missed.

My tenant wants to leave because of the works. Does that count?

Effects on occupancy and income feed into the value of the remainder, and the business damages question may also arise. Raise both early.

Understand your property situation before the next step

Explore Florida resources matched to your property type, the project affecting it, and the stage you have reached.

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