St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-08-08
ST. PAUL REAL ESTATE
Increased Activity Oharaoterizes the
Real Estate Market in st.
Paul.
BUSINESS and Residence Property in Wig
orous Demand in All Parts of
the City.
south st. Paul, at the Stock Yards,
Receiving Marked Attention
from Buyers.
Foreign Money Coming in Very Rap
Idly For Investment in st.
Paul Realty.
Gradually Increasing.

dlcatlOnS come from no special sales or de-
velopments in any particular part of town,
but from the gradually increasing demand
for real estate in all directions, the general
strengthening up of prices tor all deScrip-
lions OF realty the readiness with which
money is found to put into this class of
property and the general tone and tendency
OF the times. At no period in the history
OF st. Paul have all things and circum-
stances so combined to produce such conf
dence in the community, and at no time
! has there been such solid groundwork
| for such confidence. The wisest and most
| experienced business men do not hesitate
to express the opinion that the next five
years, unless some great calamity comes,
Will witness such a degree of prosperity
and such an increase in wealth, business
and general advancement as has
never before been approached in
the history of the city. The
location of the stock yards here has done
much to inspire this confidence, for it is a
great undertaking, and involves the invest
ment of many millions of dollars in money
to establish the plant. While this single
industry will do much to build up st. Paul,
it must also be borne in mind that great
and influential as it is, the men that have
put the money into it would never have
made the attempt if they had not first
looked over the ground and concluded that
the advantages offered by st. Paul as a
| location and place of business were such
that they could be certain of a good return
on their investment 1t is this natural adj
vantage of the location of this city of ST.
Paul for all kinds of business that is the
key of the situation, and nat
urally and without any forced process
draws capital and business to this point.
The heaviest demand for business property
is still in what may be termed the basin;
that is, that part of the city that lies south
OF the bluffs and between Wabasha street
and Trout brook. All this property is
coming into market sooner or later, accord
ing to the best business minds, as business
property. At the present time, from Waba-
sha to Jackson streets, below Eighth, the
property is held the highest, of any in the
city. On the line of Seventh street, be-
tween these two points, no property can be
bought to-day at any price likely to be
named. No one is willing to sell, for most
of it is improved, and the few lots that are
not improved will more than pay taxes and
assessments. The result is that nothing is
to be had. The value of this property is
still further increased by the fact that
Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Cedar, Minnesota and
Robert streets are all being more or less
| improved by the erection of valuable bust
ness blocks. Business is now erowding into
this basin at very rapid rate. The history
Of this part of the city would be an inter
eSting one if told by some old settler Theirs
| was time. and that too within the recol-
lection OF many citizens when a good por-
| ton of the property between WabaSha and
jackson was swamp or lake, where
| hunters reSOrted for game, and rowed their
| boats all around where now are paved
streets and valuable blocks. The swamp
has disappeared. but it has left its mark
behind so that, in many instances the per-
son who erects block like the one belong
ing to James King OIL the northwest corner
OF Seventh and Cedar, finds it necessary to
drive piles in order to secure satisfactory
foundation. For nearly quarter of CEN
tury all this tract of land, although in the
heart of the city, right where one would
naturally think improvements would be
made first nothing has been done, until
recently. for more than twenty years, and
until few years ago it has been the most
desolate and uninvting part of town, with
no sidewalks, no street grades, and what
few buildings there were being old tumble
down houses, rickety and insecure, while
the streets at night were so dark that,
rather than go through them. people went
around a considerable distance. This dis
trict has always presented peculiar phase
in the growth of st. Paul. 1t is now taking
on the spirit of improvement and some OF
| its streets have been paved and stone side
walks are being laid in most of them. The
| indications now are that this part of the
city will soon be very solidly built up, and
| that it will become what it very naturally
| ought to be, the center of heavy business.
This season is more remarkable than any
| preceding one for the amount of eastern
capital that is making its way in here for in
vestment, and also Oh account of the money
that is being invested by our own citizens
in real estate. 1t has been a matter OF
frequent remark that the people of this city
have always refrained from investing in
real estate in st. Paul, and no small amount
of criticism has been INDUCED in
because some citizens have invested in
other cities and there made expensive i'm
provementS. There seems now to be but
little, if any, cause for criticism. The
monied men of St. Paul have, apparently,
changed their views and are now freely
buying in all directions and improving lib
orally by the erection of expensive blocks.
Much of the strength of the real estate mar
ket at the present time is due to the
fact. 1t indicates that the solid men of
the city, men of shrewdness and good judg-
ment, have acquired confidence in our
| future that leads them to the settled con-
| cluSion that such investments will be highly
remunerative. There has never been a
time when the purchases of real estate
were less Of speculative character than
they are at the present time. A large pro-
portion OF the sales during the week have
been in South st. Paul in the additions neal
the stock yards. This is partly due to two
causes. One is that these immense stock
yards will give an opportunity to very
large number of employees, and the
other is that there is tendency
to secure homes outside of the CEN
ter of the city, where the owners
can have rapid transit to and from theiI
places Of residence This has been demon
strated by Merriam and Union Parks.
Rapid transit is coming to be an absolute
necessity. This is abundantly furnished
by the Minnesota & Northwestern motor
line. The belief is general that West st.
Paul has but just begun to taste of prosper
ity and that the immense fiat on the river
is to become the seat of a vast manufac-
turing district. While the anticipatious,
and hopes, and wishes of the more enthus-
| iaStic residents of that section of the city
may not be fully realized, there can be no
doubt that there's abundant evidence to
expect great things from that side Of the
| river.
miscellaneous.
All around the new shops of the st. Paul
| & Northern Pacific road. near Hamline, a
| large amount of building is going on
| Edmund Rice, Jr., has purchased twenty
four lots on Agate street, between Lawson
and Case street, for S12, 900.
j. r. McMurran is preparing to build 8
$4,000 residence on Langford avenue in st
Anthony Park North
Thirty lots were sold during the week by
| P. T. Kavanagh g. Co. in Eastville Heights for