The herald., 1895-09-29
IMPROVING LEASED GROUNDS

line pOllcy OF le6SlnS Valuable lanQ 1Or
building purposes is becoming more
popular every year, especially in rapidly
growing cities like Los Angeles and a
few cities of the east. Capitalists have
found that however desirable it might be
to own a valuable city lot on which they
have made, or are about to make, costly
i'm pIovements. it is not absolutely neces-
saly that they hold title deeds to the
ground in order to make their Improve
ments profitable Guaranteed possession
and use for term of years is all that
many enterprising capitalists require as
an inducement to cover a sma piece of
ground in growing business center with
very expensive buildings. 1t is common
thing In every progressive city to see
some of its largest and finest buildings
standing on land owned by parties other
than those who own the structures. And,
as rule, the revenue derived from the
rentals Of such buildings give satisfac-
tion to the investors, though it must be
admitted the persons who own the land
itself, and without risk or effort scoop in
the annual rent from their more enter
prising fellow citizens, have the inside
track in the race towards the goal of
opulenos.
In New York city immense business
blocks. costing in the aggregate many
millions of dollars, stand on leased
ground. The same is true Of Chicago,
where costly "sky-scrapers, on school
section blocks and on lots owned by pri-
vate parties, attest the growing popu-
larity of this form of investment That
city originally owned school section, or
$50 acres of land, with power to either
lease or sell it. the proceeds in either
case to 60 to the public school fund. The
section of land is bounded by Madison,
State, Twelfth and Halstead streets,
and having increased in value with the
growthof the city, its present valuation
PROBABLY exceeds 500, 900, 900, as the area
includes large portion of Chicago's
business center. The school land was
originally subdivideo into 142 city blocks
and about 5000 building lots. Years ago
the city foolisnly sold all but four Of the
142 blocks, and it now owns only these
four. The price received for those sold
was $3s, 800. One of the reserved blocks,
No. AZ, which is bounded by State, Mad
ison, Dearborn and Monroe streets, is now
estimated to be worth more than 200
tines as much as the amount rceiveed
by the city for the entire 1873 blocks sold,
On that block of ground are the Tribune
building,a handsome fve-story structure;
McVicker's theater and several hotels
and business blocks, the owners of which,
under their leases, pay into the city treas
ury for school purposes rentals agggregat-
ing $266, 800 year, or S12S, 200 more than
the total amount for which the 1873 blocks
were sold. Ground on the two most val
liable corners in that block is now worth
at the rate of $S,000,O0 an acre.
These facts in the history of Chicago
are interesting chiefly for the reas ON that
they serve to illustrate the increase of
comm unity made land values in ratio
corresponding to the growth and enter
prise of the community, and the folly of
a city or state in selling its school lands
insetad of holding them for the rise thar
private individuals are sure to get. and
the public lose, if they are sold. They
also afford striking proof that actual
ownership of valuable land, though es-
ssntial to the Spectator, is not a neces-
sity for the man who proceeds upon the
theory that land was intended only for