New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-05-26
OLD ESTATES IN BRONX
Van CortIandt Sale About Last
of Colonial Times.

23gth and 2iOth streets-it is to be sold at
auction on June s, by Joseph p. Day |
about the last OF the old estates estah- |
Hshed in The Bronx in Colonial times, will |
pass into the hands Of those who VII de-
velop them. In the last five years there has |
been steady liquidation Of these prop |
critics, and subsequent to every sale there |
has been building movement. resulting in |
the enhancing of values. So have passed |
the Ogden estate the Trask, the Morris, |
the Drummer, the Varan. the Faile and |
tie various estates which formerly in !
Guided the fast growing Hunts Points SOC
ton.
It was through these sales that many
investors obtained their first New York
City properties. and while some still hold |
their purchases. hoping to gain great profits
as the city growth brings their lands into
demand for large buildings. many others
have already sold at prices satisfactory to
themselves and have reinvcstcd Through
the medium Of the auction room. hundreds
of acres have been divided, and while
bringing large amounts to the heirs Of the
original purchasers. have neen the means
of helping thousands Of small buyers TO
make good profits.
The Van Cortlandt estate includes
only small part of the vacant land
in The Bronx, nor is it the last Of the
large holdings During recent years some
Of the well known and well-to-do real es-
tate operators of this city, impressed by
the unparalleled growth Of the borough
have seen there field for activity aud
have privately purchased many hundreds
Of acres. from which they expect to make
profits even as great as those mad" :"
Manhattan. Years aso In Astors, acting
on this belief. sold large parcels OF their
property on the East Side OF Manhattan
and reinvested the proceeds in great tracts
in The Bronx. It is said of them that their
present property is much Ike the Thomp-
son farm was, where the Waldorf-Astoria
stands. when they bought that property.
They are doing nothing with their land, but
soon, as the result OF city expansion,
through subway improvement they expect
10 lease It to others to build it ZIP for them.
lust as they did with their Manhattan real
estate.
The rest Of the large holders OF Bronx
property arc shrewd real estate operators
who Will hold their lands until values have
Increased sufficiently, and then they Will
make their profits They include such mon
as George f. Johnson, Max Marx and
Henry Morgenthau all OF whom have
already made fortunes in the borough and
have reinvestcd their winnings.
Most OF the estates sold during the last
five years have been parCelled or through
necessity, and the same reason holds In
the case OF the Van Cortlandt property In
this instance. as in several others In re-
cent years. the heirs wanted the property
turned into cash Various estates have
gone about doing this in different ways.
In some cases where the property was held
under a single ownership the sale has been
voluntary Offering by that individual In
other cases the estate has sold out 10 real
estate operators. who have developed the
property and themselves offered II at auc-
ton. Still another means. the one adopted
in the Van Cortlandt estate sale, has been
through a Supreme Court partition. which
means that a member Of the family has
brought suit for a division Of the estate ana
the court has ordered the property sold
through referee. In recent years these
partition sales have been the most salts
factory, both from the sellers and the
BUYERS point OF view. because such safes
are absolute ana inc p'ope'' - "N' 'N
tected by the owners.
FRONTS "hlcH nav oee" mo -
buyers OF estate lands have been notable
in many Instances, and especially Is this
true OF lands purchased In the HlSh !
Bridge and Washington Bridge sections CT
The Bronx alons the north side OF the
Harlem River. There were LOO lots IN TINS
estate, which was sold at auction IN Ap'"'
1851. The Ogden tract l. ho''" % ''' '"'
Cortland property.
This section despite 'ne '"o' -,
transit facilties are NOT % eo0' q. 80,
the Van CoriIah'' estate now .'"'
notable advance III NdI"'7' h''''''s 80
neghDorhood mas 4Hc!Nu'u '"o SUD-
dwelling houses l"O fanny "0'''' a'N
story apartments "hlch rent d. sOo' 90
On streets where such coHs'fu'"'" Ha' ~
done values nave III many ''s,' -.
| uo"oIeu III ''' Nv - 49,. s,,.,s,.r-
Even lHc '"' ''' H.. 80,
uaI T''"'' ~ ' Nh,
Na'0duois oi' ''' '''' ,',' o.
the du'iloH D"'''' paw -''
instance, mat sou u'H III '''' 'N'
are assessed al ElV" C'"tIS I''"C O'0'7"'
$3.50 on main thoroushIdTes no" s'd"u vi
the city books al }-'J"' ana II j wei mo"
that the city assesses such property 'o'
not more IMAM - pei cent VI us ''"'
The estate OF Lewis "o"'eI"'Li -"o''''
the last OF the estates near 'i'e d.
iahdt 70 DE SOLO was u'NI'vD ~ .iu. ''o'' -
1uAe' I'i' mo P'o -, 49,.
oeueN anu 60. ''' -, ~ ,,,,r,,asad ~,