The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-12-08
GREAT AUCTION SALE
Old University Grounds Go to
Highest Bidder.
ARE VALUED AT S155,O 900
MAY BE BOUGHT FOR RAILROAD
PURPOSES.

I
One Of the biggest auction sales of
public property ever pulled off in Utah
/ isrscheduled to occur on Saturday noon
Jan. u, at the south front door of the
/ city and county building. The prop
/ erty to be offered to the highest bidder
/ is the ten-acre tract in the northwest
eTn part OF the city. a-d the buildings
( thereon until recently occupied by the
! state university, together with the uni
/ versity laboratory building and 12x2O
: rods of ground on the south side of
/ First North street, between First and
/ Second West. No bid lower than the
/ appraised value of all of the property,
! fixed by the state land board at S155,-
/ 600, viii be entertained, although the
university square may be bought in
! separately by any purchaser. The auc-
/ tioneer viii be one of the state land
/ commissioners, probably Fisher $ Har-
i ris.
/ After devoting all of Thursday and
part of yesterday to the duty of ap-
praising the property formerly occupied
/ by the university. the land commission
/ ers yesterday completed the valuation
/ and arranged the terms of sale. In the
I law providing funds for the erection of
new buildings on the east bench site
/ of sixty acres, coded by congress from
| the Fort Douglas reservation, the di-
! rectiOn is given that the state land
| board shall convert the abandoned
property into cash, as soon as is rea-
sOnably possible, to replenish the uni
versity land fund.
Appraised by Commissioners.
The valuation placed on the ten-acre
tract and the main building and the
nv FEa
normal training school. is $125.OO0. and
for the laboratory building and ground
on the next block at $50, 00c, or S155 600
for the whole The cost OF the old main
building of the university was in ex-
cess of $50. 900, sixteen years ago. and
OF the training school building. erected
more recently, $50, GOO. The boiler house
cost about $1,000 and the laboratory
building represents a cost of $4,000
The two pieces of ground are believed
to be worth about 100000, without ref
eTenCe to the valuable improvements
on the land
The terms OF sale, aside from mini
mum price of $155, 000 the total apprais-
ed value, are that the purchaser or pur-
chasers shall pay One-ffth of the pur-
chase price at the approval of sale, and
the balance in eight equal annual pay
ments, with interest on deferred pay
ments at . per cent yearly.
The ten acres which for so long was
the site of the Utah university was
known in early times as Union square,
and was coded by the city to the for
mer territory On condition that II be
used forever for educational purposes, /
but a few years ago the city council
waived that condition, taking another
condition that the new buildings for
the states educational institution be
located on the east bench.
The ground and building of the labor
att CIV far~I
the Salt Lake Literary & Scientific as
ISOLATION corporation formed by
leading MOrInOns and old graduates of
the university, for endOwing a chair
in geology and natural history, the post
of instruction now filled by Professor
Talmage.
High School Suggestion.
A growing sentiment favors the pur-
chase of the buildings and grounds of |
the university by the board Of educa-
ton for high school purposes. and the /
laboratory building for a grade school. I
This sentiment found expression yes D
terday at the meeting of the university /
regents in the adoption of a. resolution I
suggesting that the board of education /
should take immediate steps to procure .
these beautiful grounds for said pur- /
poses"
BY. reason of the fact that the board /
of education is bound by a lease that !
has about ten years yet to run on the /
building now occupied by the High 1
school, and that in the way stand the /
matters Of selling the lease and raising I
funds by bonds at a lower rate of in
terest than 5 per cent, with the con-
sent Of the taxpayers, without cOnsid-
ering the question of desira bility OF I
the site in comparison with other sites
on the east side. it is not believed that /
the school board viii see its way clear
= hand Kidding
But it is not improbable that some
private educational institution may ap-
pear in the field as a bidder at the
sale.
Wanted by Railroads
Frequently II has been mentioned
that the Burlington OF some other rail-
road projected to come to Salt Lake
would likely have q representative buy
in the ten-acre tract for it's passenger
depot grounds. leaving the other piece
of property for other bidders. 1t would
occasion no surprise therefore, if the
square should be aUctioned off to some
person bidding in the interest of the
Burlington or the Southern Pacific rail-
road 1t is not generally known, but it
is an admittedFthat fact that recently
some Of the members of the board Of
regents We're approached by
a man believed to be in touch with the
people with a request that /
he be given an option on the square at
q price that might be agreed upon, but
the answer was given that only the
state land board had authority to con-
tract for the sale Of the block.
Secretary GrOO Of the land board has
been approached. it is stated, by per-
sons who have their eye on the old
square for q hotel and sani-
.arium, and intend TO be within hearing