The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-01-31
Mr.. Roche on Avenue Extension.


Sir: So much has been said and writ
ten about the opening of Wyoming ave-
nue. that is misleading that / venture to
write you with view to correcting the
opinion the public must necessarily have
formed Of the project, The reporters of
the dailes are largely to be blamed for
this. They know that | do not undertake
an enterprise of this magnitude and i'm
portance unless well fortified with facts,
yet not one of them sought information
from me. They said ot first it would
cost hundred thousand dollars or more,
then reduced it TO seVenty-tive thousand,
and now indicate that it may cost less.
They sought information from council
men opposed to the measure who were
not informed and took no pains to seek
it where il would naturally be found,
with its advocates. But this is aside.
In your article on the 18th you sav
that three options have not been re-
ceiVed by the city, namely, for the lands
of james Kearney. w. Gibson Jones and
the Delaware and Hudson Canal COM
pany. james kearney does not own any
property ON the line of the avenue. The
city bought from him at the time it
bought the Swift lot on Phelps street.
The deed may be seen at the city soiCi-
tors office. The option of the Delaware
ard Hudson Canal company is in the city
| solicitors hands also. There remains,
therefore. only the Jones property. The
city has no option on this l have not
the map before me, but my recollection
is that the property the city needs of Mr..
Jones is 1890 or $50 square feet. Land at
| this point is not worth 60 cents a square
| foot but at this figure it would cost S31S.
The Delaware and Hudson Canal COM
| pany owns no land on the proposed
street. They ask in their option that the
| city buy what land is required along
n
| tracks upon. that the city pay for the
| removal of the tracks, that a triangular
piece of land between their present
| freight house and the Dickson Manufac-
| turing Company's boiler house be pur-
| chased for new freight house site and
| that the city agree not 10 open Penn
| avenue through the old cemetery plot.
This means the purchasing of $50 square
| feet for the tracks at 90 cents a foot,
! $3IS, the cost of moving the tracks-lesS
| than $l,000-and the purchase of the tri-
| angular piece above referred to. This
| piece fronts on no street. 1t cannot Oe
| cut up in lots on account of its acute
| triangular shape and is not worth more
than $1,000, according to values in that
| locality. As TO these values interested
! parties can easily determine whether I
am right or not. As to the cost of re-
| moving the tracks | have built railroads
| and know whereof l speak. There is
| SCdICSlS an tltiHtl Ut pl uncertainty re-
| garding this option. The city will never
open Penn avenue through the cemetery
| plot, 1t would parellel CapCuse avenue
within fifty feet of the latter avenue.
| The options received by the city for
property on the bed OF the proposed ave-
! nue. are generally based ON extraordinary
! values There is nothing uncommon in
| this. 1t is usuai to ask fictitious prices
| OF the City and this weakness is not con-
| fined to any particular locality or any
| particular class. The rich ana the poor
| the educated and illiterate alike ask the
city two or three times the actual value
| for any real estate the city wants. No
| one having experience imagines that the
| prices asked will he the prices paid.
| There are eleven houses and two or
| three barns or sheds on the bed Of the
| avenue. Three of these houses are worth
| about $1,000 each, two are worth in the
| ncighhorhood of Sl600 each. rather less
| than more; the rest range between 500
| and $1,000. The best barn may be worth
$500. Computing the cost by the rule in
use among insurance agents all the
buildings are worth Sll,596
! The city Will not be obliged to purchase
all of the land on the bed of the ave-
nue.. Wyoming avenue was laid out
through the Lackawanna Iron and Coal
company tract before the Delaware and
| Hudson Canal company put their tracks
to own 1t. The LathrOp and Jones es-
tate extended it sixty feet in width IL
within III feet of New street. There is
now a lane or alley running diagonaily
from Phelps street TO within III feet OF
New street ON the northerly side, All OF
this we do not have to buy. 1t belongs
to the city now, There remains there.
| fore, according to measurements made
| ON the map of the avenue 49, ,992 square
feet or ground to be purchased What
Is this worth? The Lackawanna Iror
and Coal company OWES property neal
both ends of the proposed improvement
| 1t will be admitted that they set tn
| price for lands adjoining them. | sem
parties TO their representative To gel
their prices q tried to get them direct
but failed) and these persons tell me thai
prices for lots on Wyoming avenue JUS
south of Pine are 81 900 per lot and OF
same avenue near Ash street. the north
erly end of the Improvements they ash
$1,000 to S2,400. Two years ago ,the city
paid $1,000 for the Swift lot 40X4G, OF
Phelps street for this same purpose anC
lots near Gibson street were offered with
in six months at $1,000. If we take thes,
| values and compute cost per square foo
on each block and strike an average pric,
per square foot II Will approximate q
cents. The 1892 square feet which th,
city must buk will, therefore, cost n
round numbers $4,000 Add to this tn,
estimated cost of buildings. $1l, ,59G n,
cost of removing the Delaware and Hud
| son tracks, 81 l00O; the cost of triangula
piece for freight house site, 50, 600 and W,
have a total of SiO596
Can the city secure these propertie
for this amount? / answer tor less than
these figures To demonstrate this IL vii
be necessary to refer to the ordinance
| hot 4 fI...