The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-12-30
Why The School
B0ard'PurChased
Burns Property
Real Estate Dealers Assured
Committee Price Was
Reasonable
Supt. Deane Approved Site
As Most Central and En-
tire Board Ratified the
Action of the Committee.

The story in today's Telegram con-
cerrtng the purchase by the Board OF
Education of q site for school in
the North End implies that the board
has been handed lemon and at a
much jGcier price than the property
is assessed in the tax list. A Far
mer reporter who Investigated the
story this morning ascertained the fol-
lowing facts:
The site which the Board of Educa-
tion purchased has 105 feet in North
Washington avenue and $50 feet In
said the plot was 100x70 feet. There
are two two-family houses; two four
family houses, and one six-family
house on the property. The price first
asked was $17,500. The property was
owned by the Patrick Burns estate
and by George Burns, of the Burns
Co. 1t was cons dered by the school
and the most acceptable as we'll as
the cheapest site offered. 1t Is as
sessed for $4,000 instead of $4,000, as
has been stated.
The property in Wells street spoken
of as 100 feet square, is the Whitney
property. The board was asked ST.
900 for this property. The three lots
sessed In the tax list for but $1,000,
and the entire plot is in the list for
So, 500.
The committee who had charge of
the selection Of a site for the locality
consisted of Commissioners E. HI. Ha-
vens, ]. F. Brady. r. H. Murphy and
A. W. Bell. They had the matter
and after that lengthy deiiberation re-
ported to the board at the meeting on
Nov. 13, recommend 'ng the purchase
of the Burns property.
Discussing the purchase. this morn
ing, COMMISSIONER Havens said:
Before we decided on the Burns
property had several real estate deal
ers look it over, and they assured me
that $4,000 was a fair price for the
property and advised it's purchase. 1t
was found that the board could get
only few hundred dollars for the
buildings, and that it would cost con-
siderable to remove them, so we de-
tracted to have the owner remove the
bui' dings. AS for the site, DR.. Deane.
superintendent Of schools, looked 1T
over. and decided it was the best and
most central location.
eff we had taken the lot in Wells
street we could not have built as
large a building, and we would have
Now we can dispose of that property
OF tear 1t down and build a modern
school on the site"
Commissioner Brady, said: "The
committee recommended the purchase
of the Burns property after four
of careful deliberation and the
comparison Of the many sites that
were offered. The property we bought
is in the center of population accord
ing to the investigation of DR.. Deane,
and 500 children will not have to cross
the trolley tracks when this building
is erected. There are sidewalks, sew
ers and water connections in the
streets on which it stands, which are
not to be found in some of the other
sites offered. We had sites offered
US ranging in price from $4,000 to
$35, coo, but this site was the most de-
sirable as well as the cheapest
Percy Anderson, well known
Bridgeport real estate operator, said
this morning:
81 consider that the Board of Edu-
cation got a bargain fn the Burns
property at the price they paid Con-
sidering that the buildings must be
removed and the property cleared,
with the locality in which it is sit
uated. / think the board made a good
DEAL