Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1896-02-21
LARGE ( IMPORTANT PURCHASE.
Of Real Estate in New York
City by The
WASHINGTON LIFE ms. COMFY,
As Reported BY the New York Evening Post
Of February IS, 1896.

Brokers in nearly all sections Of the city
report satisfactory improvement in
general business, both as regards selling
and renting. A considerable amount OF
preliminary work has been brought to the
contract stage, but there would be no
particular demonstration of rejoicing over
this fact if it were not only precedent to Il
largo volume OF new business in process
of negotiation, under more favorable
auspices than foc many months before.
AS for month or so, the business has
been pretty fairly distributed over the
city, no section failing entirely to share in
the seasons improvement. There have
been some specially favored sections, how
ever, and, except that first place In the
favor of operators and investors is given,
as for long past, to the lower sections of
Broadway, the other specially favored
sections are contiguous to the new transit
lines in the upper part of the city, as
heretofore noted.
The one conspicuous sale OF the week
was that made by +. a. Oruikshank q
Co, for the heirs of Bowie Dash and the
Avian Bininger estate, of the Broadway,
Liberty street, and Temple street prop
erty, TO the Washington Life Insurance
Company, reported in the Evening Post
of Monday. There are, according to the
last conveyances Of the property, 9,1ff.3l
square feet in the plot, Of which 7,1S29 %
square feet are in the Dash property, en-
hraciDg the corners with frontage Of
29.5 ON Broadway. 1910 on Liberty
street and s4.2 feet on Temple street, and
2,5jS.39 are In the Blninger parcel No
Ill Broadway.
The price quoted for the property being
81, ESQ, 600 make, the square foot price for
the entire plot $i3i. 81; for the Dash par.
eel sl39.22 and for the BiliDger parcel
Sl0944. Considering the large area on
Liberty and Temple streets the price for
the Broadway corner is considered equiv
alent to $3.50 or Whereabouts per square
foot Most brokers consider this cheap
price for the property. 1t is one of the
few best remaining corners in the great
banking, Insurance, and office building
section OF lower Broadway. 1t Is suscer-
tible to improvement to very great ad-
vantage and has been in the eyes Of the
spectators for many years. President
Brewer Of the purchasing company ex-
press, modest i6eas regarding the height
Of the new building which will go up on
hbt Sitc va WV piSsSDU tlh lfNt-sNNEy bRtlid-
ings year hence, but If hts company
should conclude to do what a speculative
owner would be morally sure to do build
on the site the highest building in the
eity--the location is such as would insure
pretty steady renting at about a. good
rates as in any office building in the city
Ii is not a commercial but rather an
aesthetic spirit that will keep the height
of this new building within existing
limits of tall buildings.
The sale OF this corner 10 the Washing
ton Life Insurance Company presumably
takes 1t out of the market for ever. This
has been the case with many a fine down
town parcel in recent years and Is likely
to be so with many another one before all
the corporations wanting home office
buildings of their own are supplied The
corporation never dies and the motive for
purchasing and improving conspicuous
property grows stronger with its years of
occupancy, so that in process of time the
property has n value for the company that
it can have for no other owner This is
the advertising value of the property
Once the building is erected and occupied
1t appears in vignettts upon letter heads.
policies, pamphlets, circulars, bill heads.
business cards, envelopes, and all other
forms of publications, and this not only
of the proprietary corporation, but of Its
hundreds of tenants besides. The build
ing becomes geographical feature of the
city. and, hearing the name of the corpor-
alton, links it for ever with the geography
of the city, so that references to the loca-
ton of the company or of any of its
tenants must be expressed in terms which
will contain en- advertisement for the
company.