St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-11-21
ST. PAUL REAL ESTATE.
So Great is the Bush Of Business That the
Abstract Business Is Behind
hand.
Comparative Prices of Property on the
Hill and in Business Parts of
the City.
A Noticeable Demand for Property
Along st. Peter street--Other
Booms.
The Record of the Past Six DAYS..
Miscellaneous Sales Past and
Future.
ST. PAUL REAL ESTATE.

The furious snowstorm that came upon
this part of the country with the opening Of
the week and continued. practically. for
three days. had no small effect in retarding
sales of realty and impeding business gen.
orally throughout this city. Still the real
estate brokers' Offices were active places,
and Notwithstanding the interference of the
storm. everything was running smoothly,
inquiries were sufficiently numerous to make
the future market promise well. Deals
were being closed with little or no friction.
and new contracts were being made in most
OF the real estate offices in the city, but il
was all being done so quietly. while the
storm was raging without. that the market
appeared to have lost its accustomed activ-
ity. The total roundup OF transactions for
the week, however. show that these ap-
pearances were deceptive Transact ona
for the week reach an average total Of
little over $1,000, 900. 1t is known
that large sums Of money have been
placed on deposit in the banks of
this city by Eastern capitalists who Intend
10 purchase here if they can ind anything
To suit them. Acre property which Is now
almost as much talked about az inside busi-
ness holdings, is still in good demand. but
owners have raised their prices, and there
Is not yet enough Of the speculative element
in the market to make buyers follow them
up. Those who own acres adjoining the
city. or sufficiently near to make them de-
sraSle. are well enough contented to hold
them. being perfectly well satisfied that the
opening Of spring will see the prices SO far
advanced as to make the holding of them
advantageous to the owners. While, there
fore. there has been no unusual activity in
the realty market during the past week.
there has been steady demand. with mora
than the usual number of nonresident in
yestors ready to take advantage
of favorable chances. Several gentlemen
are in St Paul representing hundreds
of thousands of dollars of capital anxious
to find some property that will double in
value by spring. and several large transac-
tons have been negotiated. One of the
great imped ments in the way of rapid
transfers is the fact that the abstract clerks
office Is now nearly two weeks behind the
ORDERS FOR ABSTRACTS.
Mr.. Veryais is at work day and night,
with considerable force, trying to keep
the work up. This inconvenience has fire.
quently been complained of. but complaint
seems to do no good. A buyer or seller,
who orders new abstract or the cOntinu-
atom of an old one, is compelled to wait
about two weeks before he can secure it.
This greatly retardS sales, and results in no
end of veXation and delay. As the Office
is very profitable to the county it would
seem as though the opportunity to reap a
harvest for the county treasury would not
have been overlooked. The activity in
suburban acres and cheap lots is not abat-
ing, while the desire for inside business
locations is decidedly on the increase. There
is good reason, too, why this should
be so. While residence property on
st. Anthony hill has considerably more
than doubled, and on some avenues like
Summit and Dayton, has quadrupled in less
than three years, some business property
has hardly advanced more than interest,
taxes and assessments added On Summit
at Dale which is at least a mile and half
from the Merchants hotel. sales have been
made at $500 per front foot for average
frontage. while there is still business prop
erty within fIom six to ten squares of the
Merchants hotel that can be bought for
$3.50 per front foot and great deal that
can be had at $3.50 per front foot. This
property is mostly on st. Peter between
Seventh and Tenth streets. There has
been good deal of inquiry in this direction
during the past week. and refusals have
been secured on considerable property on
st. Peter street. 1t is not known why at
tention was directed to that locality but it
is so near the heart of the retail district
that it is somewhat strange that it has been
neglected so long. The rnlnor that Sackett
& Virgins will build their new $500. 900
opera house on st. Peter may have had
something to do with this movement. The
certain improvements GU this street
are sufficient to more than justify
the prices at which property is held.
The area between Broadway and Sibley
streets has also been a much neglected
region. probably from the fact that Rosa
bel and Wacouta streets have not been
paved Both these streets contain a
wretched lot of shanties. Additional light
and improved streets would drive the class
of business on these streets away. The
lots from st. Peter to Sibley are rapidly
being filled with new and handsome business
structures, and the march Of improvements
will soon sweep eastward and occupy this
hitherto neglected territory. Any one who
will study the map of the city will see that
this space must of necessity come at once
into active demand, and as the present im-
prOvemeDts are vaueIeSs, it will probably
result in a better built section than almost
any other in the city. Some heavy capt.
talists are already turning their attention
in this direction. Unfortunately the streets
in Whitney & Smiths addition were not
square!y met by the streets in Kittson's
addition. and so when the east side Of
Broadway is improved there will be
great blanks looking westward up
Fifth and Sixth streets, just as then Orthern
Pacific headquarters building looks up
Fourth street. These logs" so numerous
all over the city. might have been taken
out and the streets Strengthened when prop
erty was cheap. but it is now practically
impossible.
THE FORTUNATE OWNERS
who hold property that now commands
view OF an entire street, which can never
be cut off or ObScured. are. as a rule not
public-spirited enough to surrender an adj
vantage of this kind unless they are paid
small fortune for their concessions Laurel
and Holly avenues. and various other
thoroughfares on st. Anthony hill, hava
logs" that could now be Strengthened al
small expense, but it will probably never
be done. The az tation tor grading and
paving streets next year is on the increase,
and almost every pretentious avenue on st.
Anthony hill Is perfectiRg local organize
ton to advance the interests of that p2rs
ticular avenue. The committee on streets
of the city council has determined upon the
matter of large number of streets,
embracing nearly everything from
Broadway and Mississippi to Seven
corners, and extending northward so
as to take in ali the streets surrounding
Central park; also on st. Anthony hill.
from Nelson to Summit out as far as Dale.
This recommendation will undoubtedly. In
the main. be carried into effect and thus
from ten to fifteen miles of streets will be
greatly improved, and the property all along
them will be largely increased in value.
When these extensive improvements ara