No Buyers

The residential developments across the nation have taken a dramatic shift toward the bottom. This decrease in land developments has taken its toll against all forms. Smart Growth, Mixed-Use, and Urban developments have all been directly hit from the horrible economic conditions of today. These conditions will place the current residential owners in the previous mentioned developments in a difficult situation. If the economic conditions do not change, how will the home owners sale their property? Will lower interest rates have to be implemented to possibly increase sales or will the home owner just have to settle with their loss? There are many positives in developing smart growth, mixed-use, and urban developments. However when these developments fail to carry out the master plans of the site or the development fails to lure buyers in, the many positives can quickly turn into negatives.

Future Developments

Now is the perfect time for every person in the area of land planning and development to establish a plan for the future. The current economic conditions across the country indicate that this area of planning and development has took a major hit. Many developments whether commercial, industrial, or residential have been stopped due to the dire circumstances of the economy. So while developers wait for the market to turn around, it would be a great idea to research the possible pitfalls of the current market. Also, the developers should research the consequences of the current decisions being made and there potential effects on the future market. The future of land planning and development depends upon the actions that will be taken in the next years to come. Hopefully, the right decisions will be made and the simple economic principle of supply and demand will resurface into the developers line of reasoning in future developments.

School Developments

Education is the most important factor in life for many people across the nation and the world. From elementary schools to high schools, a top notch education is a necessary goal. However, what impact do academic institutions have on land planning and development? One very crucial impact is the zoning effect. Once a particular tract of land is classified as institutional, there are limited uses for potential outside developers. For instance, all cities or counties have lewd laws which prohibit certain establishments from entering into the institutions zone. Many lewd laws call for a set minimal distance of yards or miles. Also, a developer must take into consideration the ratio of students to acres. Many states require five acres for every hundred students. This requirement can easily push schools across the nation into the next classification. The next classification is an university. So, what are land developers to do with a potential school that has well over three thousand students? The best possible thing is to appeal to the people.

Commercial Building

Compared to residential development, commercial development involves many other tangible parts. For instance, residential development evolves around the ideas and blueprints of ambitious business intellectuals. Besides dealing with normal things such as zoning and setback requirements, these residential developers have far greater options. On the other hand many if not all, commercial developments have to abide by more stringent local, state, and federal procedures. Also, the commercial developer may find himself outside the normal rules and regulations of land planning and development. One example of this situation would be a restaurant owner who must work closely with the Securities Exchange Commission to begin a redevelopment of the restaurant. Another example would be for the commercial developer to gain approval from the ABC. These are two smaller examples of the extra steps that would be needed. There are many more steps which possibly are more stringent, but the overall picture is worth painting. Be fully prepared and patient when engaging in commercial development.

Development Plans

Many cities or local governments would rather build new developments instead of redeveloping an old building. In most cases, the primary reason for this line of thinking is cost. The redevelopment of an old building can have many structural problems such as electrical wiring malfunctions, rusted pipes, or an inadequate foundation. These are just samples of potential problems, but there could definitely be more expensive underlying damage to a building. So, why would a developer want to fix these potential problems? Instead, the developer can build their own project and tailor it to their specifications. Many developers would possibly agree with the reasoning of the preceding sentence. However, they run the risk of having their newly built project becoming another statistic. Well, what statistic am I referring? It is the same statistic the developers pass over when they opt not to redevelop and instead opt to build new projects.

Car Plants

Over the past four to five years, people who reside on the Alabama-Georgia line near the West Point and Valley area have been waiting patiently for the Kia Plant to be up and running. In response to the arrival and running of the plant, some cities began to build many residential developments in hopes of luring the three to four thousand workforce. Many developers and governing city officers and officials reasoned their new residential developments on prior cities who dealt with the same circumstances. So as a result, there were hundreds of residential developments being built, but the demand was not immediate. Some of these developments, if not all, are operating at less than a 50% or 60% occupancy rate. There are many possible reasons for these low occupancy levels, however most could have been avoided . Maybe its the prices? Maybe because there are no current demands? Maybe, these cities just need a little more time? There are no clear cut answers to these problems. In fact, some developers may say there is no problem, but these recent residential developments are definitely not operating at full occupancy.

OverBuilding

During the 1980's and well into the early 1990's, the United States had a land development boom. There were thousands of land developments being built ranging from commercial to residential to industrial. One reason for this era of building was demand. There was a higher demand for land developments in those time frames. A prime example would be an industrial development being implemented to accommodate the rising demand for automobiles, textile mills, shopping malls, and other commercial activities. It is debatable as to whether those demands were actually demands of the public or were they the fantasies of over ambitious businessmen. However, we are feeling the effects of those demands in the current economy. Today, land development and planning is an endangered species in the United States. Developments are moving at a turtle's pace with no intention of increasing speed. So, who is to blame for this inactivity? Of course, there are no takers, but the blame can be divided among all players in the game of land planning and development.