The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-01-14
--~-1----- Estate Men Talk of This Need. EFFECT ON THE PROPERTY How Money is Made in City
 Property. some More Facts About the Remark able Enhancement of City Suburb an and Farmins ffoperty,- Some Has Increased Five
 Fold.
 
BY WILL T. SIBERIAN.

BY WILL T. sHEEHAN.
 Wanted: A business firm with nerve
 enough and money enough to move a
 block out of the congested district and build up a new retail section.
 This is Montgomery's greatest need.
 It is the biggest single thing the city
 can get at the present time. IL would mean more to Montgomery than the building of big and wide spreading factory. At least that is what the real estate men of the city say about it. They go on to say that Montgomery really needs a new retail district worse
 than the city needs a new railroad; that a rev retail district would mean
 more to Montgomery than a new rail- road. And it is their opinion that all
 is needed. Is for some big firm with
 plenty of money and plenty or nerve
 to go on one of the streets of a block
 from Court Square and make the start.
 They say, these real estate men. that
 if this firm was a large one. one that
 had a clientage and one that was
 given to advertising. that Its establish
 ment of the single big store would TO-
 suit in the creation of q new district A Pressing Need.
 Something will have to be done. That
 Is certain. It might be truly said that daily applications are made to tho real
 estate men of Montgomery for store
 room And when one of these pros
 pective merchants are turned away, as they have to be turned away, why the city of Montgomery suffers. Moreover, the. present congested situation is se-
 rious enough for the merchants who are already fortunate enough to have a
 Dexter Avenue or Court Square posi- tion for his business. Where his troubl" sx. Ers kk.A& 4a N1n
 his business to expand physically. It
 can grow to certain point but no more Tn the cases of many nor
 chants who are the lucky holders Of
 the envied places in the congested dis
 trict. their business has expanded un- til 1t has filled all the room at their disposal. The next expansion will have to be in a new retail district.
 It is coming, of course. It is bound to come. It is only a matter of time
 before the congested retail district Is going to break it's bounds even as the
 congested wholesale district has al- ready broken its bounds of restraint.
 It is a development of the near future and one of the greatest developments that can come to the city of Montgom- cry, It means a new chapter in tho | history of the Capital City, when 1t does come, as it will.
 The Arcade Plan.
 There was sometime ago a proposi- | ton that was pregnant with possibil- l ities for the city of Montgomery. It was planned and mapped out for this
 very thing, namely. the making of an new retail district. H. c. Davidson had the plan in hand. Mir. Davidson in point of continuous service, Is perhaps | the oldest business man In the city, has been in business In Montgomery since 1868. He has seen and marked | the various stages of the city's growth
 and he has seen and marked the great
 est need of Montgomery. Which, in l his opinion, as in the opinion of the | other real estate men Is the amplifica- l ton of the congested retail district. 1 It was an excellent idea, the one MT. Il Davidson conceived. He proposed to carry Monroe street straight on west | to Commerce street. From the present western terminus of Monroe street to | Commerce street, there was to De an
 arcade The arcade would be for foot
 passengers. All vehicles would have to | 20 around the Noses building even | as they do now. But the arcade was
 to be one cemented. with broad side
 walks with attractive retail shops on T each side. There is such an arcade in
 Nashville and another in Cincinnati
 They are very attractive places. They
 are in great demand by the retail peo-
 pie.
 With plenty of capital at his com
 mand and with energy enough to car
 ry any project through, MT. Davidson
 failed in the arcade proposition. And 1 for only one reason. The people who owned the property between Monroe
 street and Commerce street did nor
 want to sell 1t for anything like what
 the purchasers considered a fair price
 It would have taken four stores. two | facing Monroe street on North court
 street and two facing Commerce street l just below the First National Bank 1 Building. Mr Davidson's customers l were willing to pay as high as $lOo,ooo
 for the right of way through these four
 stores. but the property owners held | that that was nc high price for stores | in Montgomery's retail district.
 1 One of Many Efforts.
 The incident is recalled only to snow 1 one of the many efforts that have been 1 made to break away from the contrac- ] lion and congestion of Court Square
 of which one real estate man said fer i vently and earnestly, Court Square IS | A curse to Montgomery" The arcade | proposition is dead.
 l Tho earnest efforts to erect in Mont | gomery a modern office building are l fresh in the minds of the people. II | may not be we'll known, however. tha' | the once Dullui0S PTOPoStNAOAA' 1 form or another, is still alive. It ls
 known among real estate men thai | there are some capitalists who have
 the money and the willingness to pu' Il a ten story office building whenever
 they can buy corner store site 1T the business section at anything llkt
 what they consider fair price.
 In reviewing past real estate condi lions in Montgomery as rettecting tho remarkable advance of the city, H. c Davidson who Is perhaps more famil
 far with those conditions than any other business men of the city, recall ed some of the incidents of the develop ment of the city property.
 Tn the year 1S6S," said MT. Davidson "T rented a store on Dexter Avenue having an annual rental of $8,OoO. IT IS72 Montgomery underwent yellow i fever epidemic She suffered worse from this epidemic than from any 1T her history. In the following year th' store I was renting sold for the smal sum of $3,000. Now that same store and if is practically in the same cOhdl tion 1t was when I first rented 1t, II worth at least $25,000. In the veal 1sS4 two stores on Commerce Stree
 sold for a total of $15,0OO Now thos' same two stores are worth at leas
 $50. 900. .,.. About the same time the store tha is occupied by Ruth's Jewelry store oi Dexter Avenue sold at public outer!
 for the sum of $700O. That store nov