I'm confused, the highway is two miles away, but they're still taking part of the property? For what?

The existing 2 lane road runs along the front of my property. If I turn right and drive 2 miles, I get to the highway. If I turn left and drive 2 miles, I get to the location of the proposed shopping area. They want to widen the road to 5 lanes because they are expecting a lot of traffic between the highway and the new built up area.

thanks for the clarification, I, too was having trouble with the logistics of your situation.

Isn't that something your sellers would have HAD to disclose? If the funds have now been approved, the plans must have been in the works as far back as when you bought. I know, our disclosure form had a place for that situation to be listed.

I'd think, you might want to sit down with a real estate attorney and see what your rights are--if there's any chance of fighting this, if your buyers might be liable in some way for not warning you about the plans, etc. Can't hurt, might help.

But know what I'd do this weekend? Run out and pick up some pretty trees to plant in front of the house, so they get a start growing, so you'll have something when/if the mature trees are taken down.

Good luck--our town just went through a horrible stretch of Eminent Domaine take-overs--the town grabbed several downtown blocks (buisnesses and homes) for a project. BUT it seems the project is now in tatters, not sure if it's ever going to be built. But those poor people were still displaced. It's awful that towns can override our rights and property.

I wouldn't be a happy camper. The temptation would be to go after the sellers and their realtor, but I think an arguement could be made that the widening was public info and you could have found out about if you had done due diligence.

I wonder how profitable it would be to turn your property into a commercial property instead of residential. Your house might even make nice offices when you decide to sell.

The fee simple take is less than 7,500 square feet (7,405.2). Depending on local laws, if the value of the acreage is less than $10,000, an appraisal might not be required and a Value Finding Analysis is the only requirement.
You will be reimbursed for the trees, the trees itself and replanting them if you so desire. Maybe you want to approach them to build a wall instead?
If it can be proven that there is damage to the remainder, you will be compensated for that.
The governing laws will probably "The Uniform Act" if federal funds are used and or State or City laws and guidelines on top of fed laws if it's mixed funding.
You will not be paid for inconveniences, however, make sure environmental requirements and your access to the property is maintained.

The project has been public knowledge for 10 years. I lived a few towns over, but I don't want to pay an attorney to tell me what I now know. Always check for future projects when buying a home.

We thought about buying some trees so they will start growing now, but the state will be getting a temporary easement almost all the way up to the house, so any trees we put in would be taken down. In our frustration we thought it might be interesting to put in a bunch of apple trees and then having them reimburse us for taking down our orchard. That idea was more for comedic relief than anything else.

I have spoken with the woman in charge of the project several times. She said that our state would be like berniek said: appraisals are only required for acquisitions that cost $10,000 or more. The project manager said my property would probably be on the borderline so she is asking for an appraisal. My brother-in-law is on the government side of these acquisitions in another state. His recommendation is that we get an attorney and not rush the process. His experience is that if the property is dragging a little bit and other properties are settled then they are more likely to pay more for my property. The project manager said they expect right-of-way acquisition to take two years, so we have that long to enjoy our home before construction begins. Of course, funding for construction has not been approved yet.

I forgot to mention that I appreciate everyone's comments and suggestions. Does anybody have any thoughts on my original question? What is this project going to do to the long term value of my home?

I am by no means an expert, but my guess would be that it will go up. My town is currently building a train station for commuters. Once completed, trains will begin leaving the station at 5am, whistles and all. Personally, you couldn't pay me enough to live next to that, but all those unfortunate souls who already owned properties around the proposed station saw their property values sky rocket.

The temporary construction easement compensation probably should be for about 2 years after project completion to assure good re-vegetation, paid usually at 10-15% of the value of the land taken.
Unless the almost 7,500 SF or 17% coverage of the 1 acre have an impact on any improvements, compensation will be based on market value. If the land has a value of 1$ per square foot, that is the compensation you can expect. Again the damage of the taking will determine the impact on future value.
The longer you hold off setteling, but before or on the selection of the jury or panel, the offer might double or tripple. A few weeks ago, an owner would not settle on an easement, origininal offer $2,200, than doubled and prior to Jury selection up to $6,000. Had a new appraisal of $1,850 for easement, Jury decided on $1,850.
You don't need an attorney, but you need patience and nerves.

berniek...How do they determine the value of the land? There aren't any land plots in the area for sale that they can use for comparison. The project manager said they do a full appraisal of the property before and after the taking and offer me the difference. That too will be difficult because all of the houses in the area are treed lots, so the after appraisal with no trees may be difficult and/or inaccurate.

I just reviewed an appraisal that had comps 5 and 6 years old, with time/market and or distance adjustments (these appraisals cost $3,500 to $5,000, but can be more). The comps are sales, sometimes current under contract parcels are used to show value relevancy.
Only the land will be appraised, not the home sitting on it, since it is are not affected. Trees will be priced by replacement cost, plus labor to plant/water them. Type of tree, caliper and height will determine value. Go to your nearest tree farm and get educated.

Below is our State manual, which is in line with The Uniform Act, but much easier to read.

Here is a link that might be useful: CDOT Right of Way