Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1886-07-03
1AAL R4TAYA 0DO0XP,
what Mr. willard says In Regard -
the Award Of the l.lhrary Jusy.
COLUMBIA HEI0HB PROPERLY AoAIH IN THE

COLUMBIA HKIoHTs PROPERLY AoAfH IN THE
ACTIVE MARKET-rHI UNIVERSITY PABK
IMPRovEMEHs-THE PRQRosED oHAND norBL
AND oTHEA BUILDINGS.
The completion Of the work Of the liheaSy stta
jury, after session OF three weeks, and the an
nouncement Of their valuation Of the three
squares south Of. East Capitol street. hes been
the important real estate feature this week,
The fact that the aggregate amount OF the
award fell within the limit fixed by Congress is
cause of congratulatiop, and insures the ssso-
ton of the building IN this locality, although
the dissatisfaction felt by some OF the property
holders will probably delay the commence
ment Of the work, and there b . possibility Of
| their preventing the building nom eyer being
erected there. If the transfer Of the property to
the government is finally brought about. it will
have an effect on property In all parts Of the
city. as those who have sold their homes will
buildings Ut low rates viii induce many
Der wish 70 retain their residence on Capitol
HUI which viii make demand for property
there, and already owners have begun TO raise
OF over half million OF dollars for the site
alone, and then the subsequent ,exPepditure
have q very appreciabie eject not alone upon
the city. Tie decision reached BY the jury is,
stated above, there are some objections made
by individuals who naturally think that full
has not been done TO Their yss
Of the jury. II was not supposed that the valu.
alton of property. Comprised within three
stance with the individual Judgment OF each
property holder, but 1t is said that many OF the
owners are satisfied with the awards made.
Inere are some instances where II would seem
injustice has been done TO the owner, as, for In
stance, where a property, OF little value
Sr ~ Is Z pay 1
ielt that he ought to receive for his property
the amount Ut the principal on WHICH he
realized his net interest On this point :. STAB
reporter made an inquiry OF Mr.. Henry A.
willard, the chairman of the jury, and he said
that while the rental received for property
determined, 10 some extent, its market value,
yet 1t could not be taken a standard OF value.
he cited property in these squares, the actual
when rented tor less money than property OF
considerable less value in what would be re-
gartded as a less desirable locality.
HOW did you get at your estimate Of the
Value of property asked the reporter.
we considered" was the reply, "the value
separately. Our judgment of the value OF the
i;ind Was determined TO u large extent by
what IL had sold for IN u recent period ana
what had teen asked for 1t and what was now
asked Tor it. One man who had a few months
before purchased Il piece OF property, refused TO
ten what he had paid for IT, ana II was found
ton Was three times what he had paid for Ii.
The jury individually Went over every loot OF
land and then com pared their estimates, which
were based largely upon information Obtained
from recent transactions and what owners and
agents asked for property in the vicinity. In
THIS way the jurors went over the entire
ground many times and it was not until they
mad determined upon the values OF the differ
awards and found that 1t came within some
81 500 OF the sum fixed by Congress. 1t may
be thought that they scaled down the valus,.
lions i'll order to come Within this amount, but
SucA was not the case,
after the jurors reached conclusion" con.
tlnued MI. Willard, las 10 the value Of the
ground, they then considered the value OF the
Improvements, and toy our Judgment aud upon
Information from experts and Others, calcu-
lated the cost ot The improvements. In cases
where the ground Is uIgh aud the improve.
menLs OF little value, the latter are thus rated
IN purchasing property. In TACT improvements
OF THIS Character are Of no value except as old
bricks, which bring %. 90 or Y3 per thousand.
There were but lew houses III these SQUARES
that had cost Il great deal OF molfey, and in such
Instances the Jurors endeavered TO mud out
how much II would cost now to build u similar
structure. 1t sometimes happens that Y man
may build u house eXtravagantly, but its actual
value Is what ii would bring when placed on
the market. Now in general" concluded MI.
" Hard, "tnere are two FACTS to be borne in
Mlnd. sec that some one uas made the caicu-
laton that Tor the amount named in tho bill
these three squares would cost $242t2 per foot.
Oar award Is il tribe less than TINS. lllen uguin
tne Jurors had the recent assessment Oeiure
thsm which LAS just been COM eted. Now, in
every Instance Tie awards We're far in excess OF
Oh taxation for the next three years. AS is well
known, ali such assessments are considerably
less ,nan the cash values OF the property. 1t
would seem that parties who are com PEELED TO
break up their homes move and nnd new
homes would he entitled to damages; but the
ruling OF the court was III the following words:
IN assessing damages the jury must consider
only The value ol property and Improvements,
leaving collateral injuries 70 be determined In
anotaei way"
u COLUMBIA HEIGHTS REVIVAL.
TI,n
number OF transfers OF suburban building sites
on both sides of l4th street, just beyond the
boundary, and Messrs. Parker T. Townsend
state that during the month Of June they
have made sales in this locality, aggreSating
$I2U,OOO. For some time past the activity In
suburban property has inclined more to the
northwest, but during the past month there
seems TO have been a revival OF interest in this
section, which two or three years ago ex-
perienced u very lively BOOM The purchase Of
the Stone estate by Senator John Sherman and
Mr. A. l.. barber and its subdivision into what
Is known Us Columbia Heights was followed
some time afterwards by an era VI activity
winch resulted in the transfer Of nearly the
entire tract TO individual investors. Owing to
the TACT that but lew improvements We're made
the movement ceased and there has not
been much done in this property Tor
some time. There are recent indications of
its again coming into the active market and
the prices obtained are an evidence that it is
still regarded as desirable tor building sites,
although the present figures are not the rather
fancy prices that prevailed when the boom Was
al its height. The lot at the northwest corner
OF Clifton and 18th streets, opposite the resi-
dence vi Senator Logan, was sold this week for
70 cents per foot The one at the southeast
corner of Roanoke and 14th streets, fronting
100 1eet on the lat Ter street. realized % cents
per foot, Wnlle the northeast corner brought
SO cents per loot. The lot on the northeast
corner Of Yale and 14th streets was bought LOT
AZ cents per LOOT, while the southeast corner OF
Yale and 14th streets, the southwest corner 0i
Yale uud 18th streets, and the northwest cor
ner OF Roanoke aud l4lh streets were sold In q
block at 33 cents per loot
UNIVERSITY PARK SITES.
The activity on Columbia Heights seems to
have affected the property on the opposite side
OF 14th street, or vice versa, as the case may be.
The grounds formerly occupied by the old
buildings of the Columbian University before
the removal to the handsome structure on 10TH
street were purchased by Mr.. w. G. HiH and
subdi yided. 1t is now known as University
park The lots frouting on l4th street are
seventy and seventy.hve feet wide, with u
depth of over 200 feet. There are three streets
running east and west, dividing the land into
blocks, and one running parallel with 14th
street. Permission has been asked from the
Commissioners to grade, curb and lay side
walks along these streets under the contract
system. Mr.. Justice Harlan, who has bought
two lots fronting on 14th street and one In the
rear, paid fifty cents per foot and he proposes
10 begin the erection OF q handsome Residence
for his own use Adjoining these lots to the
has bought TWO similar lots at the same
figure. Capt. A. A. Thomas has also pur-
chased two similar lots on the 14th-street front
for the same price. Senator CuIlom has pur-
chased two lots each SO feet front, on Euclid
Place, street running east and west, tor which
he mid 40 CENTS Similar lots on tho same