Value Our Opinion

Land Use Planning

Highest and Best Use Studies

gsi assists clients in determining the use for a site that results in the highest potential value for a property. This can be helpful in marketing a property, developing vacant land, or deciding what course of action to take with an under-utilized asset.

Criteria for determining the Highest and Best Use include:

  • The use must be legal and in compliance with zoning and building restrictions; alternatively, the site must have strong potential for re-designation.
  • The use must be within the realm of probability a likely one, not speculative or conjectural.
  • A demand for such a use must exist.
  • The use must be profitable.
  • The use must provide the highest net return to the land for the longest possible time.

gsi‘s Highest and Best Use Study includes a profile of recent development within the subject area/neighbourhood, summarizes land use restrictions, projects various development/use scenarios and estimates the value of the site using a land residual value approach.