In their FAQ, the Board claims that "Based on the opinions of licensed area Real Estate Brokers and the value of homes in other comparable locations, there is no evidence to suggest that property values will decrease due to a village hall being located in the residential area." - The Board has not revealed the opinion holders and has not provided any detailed studies supporting their claims
Please see an important statement below from Kate Dunn, a licensed real estate salesperson with many years of experience selling houses located in the Circle Drive area:
No One Wants to Buy Next Door to Village Hall
Location, location, location. Since 1944 the small parcel of land between 31 Circle Dr. & 51 Circle Dr. has been open and green. There is not a single resident in this neighborhood who purchased their home next to, down the block from, or around the corner from Village Hall. We purchased our homes next to, down the block from, and around the corner from an open green space. Although the small parcel of land has never been officially designated as a “Park” it has in effect looked like a park and served residents like a park while providing safe walking access to the LIRR platform.
Whether it’s called a park, a lot or an open green space doesn’t matter. What matters is that for many in this neighborhood, it’s the reason they chose to purchase their home on Circle Drive, Colonial Drive, Janssen Dr. & Circle Lane. Safe streets with no cut-through traffic is another reason we chose to purchase our homes in this neighborhood.
The Village’s proposal to develop this parcel of land as the Village Hall will take away our two most important location assets. We will lose our park-like open green space and we will have outside traffic on our streets. Two of our greatest selling points will be taken away and replaced with a negative selling point, a municipal building. It doesn’t matter how quaint it looks on the outside, no one wants to live next to Village Hall. The building will house 5 offices for staff and a hall for court, meetings and elections. Behind the building there will be 6 parking spaces for visitors and staff who come and go between 9 am - 4 pm Monday - Friday. Running the length of the lot will be a long driveway leading to a curb cut on Circle Drive at the intersection of Colonial Drive where the school bus stop is located.
This intrusion will have a negative impact on our property values. The homes that will suffer the greatest loss will be #31 and #51, as they are on either side of the municipal building. Nassau County will issue a “Negative Location Factor” for homes abutting a Municipal building if the homeowners file a grievance. The additional 5 homes (50 Circle, 24 Circle, 21 Circle, 225 Stonytown & 239 Stonytown) that will also be negatively impacted by the traffic won’t be granted a negative location factor by Nassau County, but prospective buyers will assign their own negative location factor to these homes when they are considering a purchase. These 7 homes have the most to lose in their value, but others will suffer as well since these homes may serve as comps to other homes in the neighborhood and so the devaluation of a few will have a ripple effect to many.
Having been on the listing or selling side of 7 recent transactions in the Circle Drive neighborhood I can attest to the positive selling points that are threatened by this project. As a Certified Buyer’s Representative, I will be legally obligated to inform my buyer clients that the home they are making an offer on is in proximity to a municipal property disguised as a residential home.
I respectfully yet strongly disagree with the Village’s claim that this project to locate Village Hall on Circle Drive will not hurt property values. Indeed, it will. To think otherwise is ludicrous.
Katharine (Kate) Dunn
Licensed Real Estate Salesperson Certified Buyer’s Representative Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty 364 Plandome Road Manhasset, NY 11030 Cell 516-445-1805 Email Katedunn@danielgale.com