Evening star., 1955-07-19
State Roads Paid Eiqs
$4,000 for 13 Acres
By CHARLES L. HOFFMAN

BY CHARLES L. HOFFMAN
The Maryland State Roads
Commission has paid a Silver
Spring real estate development
corporation $4,000 for a 49,
acre undeveloped residential tract
in the path of the Inter-county
Belt highway, The Star has
learned.
The $4,000 an acre paid fol
the land to the Fig Development
Corp. was more than double the
acreage price the commission
paid for an 11-acre tract eight
months earlier, directly across
from the Fig tract.
Roads Commission officials
yesterday confirmed the pur-
chase price as recorded last De-
cember 8 in Montgomery County
land records.
Highest Price Yet Paid
The price is the highest yet
paid in Montgomery County for
either the new National Pike or
the circumferential route, roads
officials said. The assessment on
11.68 acres of the land was $685.
670 records in Rockville show.
The big corporation is headed
UP by Sam Fig, prominent Silver
Spring businessman and realtor
His sons name, Lawrence, also
appears on the deed.
The 13 acres taken by the
roads commission was part of a
large 64-acre tract purchased by
Mr.. Fig four years earlier under
a deed recorded March 16, 1850
from Edith Elizabeth Bean. The
rest of the tract is being devel-
oped in ngle-family residences
S198,4O9 Price Indicated
Federal tax stamps on the
Bean Fig transfer totaled $218.5O
indicating a sale price of not
more than $198, ,409 for the entire
tract. That would be about
$3.1O0 an acre.
The IL acres bought by the
roads commission lies on the east
side of Georgia avenue about 400
feet south of Forest Glen road.
The roads commission paid
Belt Parkway Properties Inc.
$71 900 for 11.03 acres in trans
fer recorded April 20, 1854. The
Belt Parkway land lies directly
opposite the Fig tract on the
west side of Georgia avenue.
Originally Appraised at $143,OO(
Roads commission employees
appraised the Fig property orig
inally at $143.000, records in
Baltimore show.
The SRC reached its appraisal
by allowing rs cents square
foot for 848 feet Of frontage on
Georgia avenue to a depth. of 13S
feet. That is $32,670 an acre
The remainder of the tract was
appraised at $1,000 an acre by
the SRC.
Before negotiations were con-
cluded, however, the SRC ap.
praisal was increased to $157 .062
by allowing the square footage
appraisal to extend for a depth
Of ITS feet.
The average of number oi
independent outside appraisals
made for the commission was
$153,722, SRC records indicate
Haggled for 2 Years
Mr.. Fig said his attorney hao
been haggling with the roads
commission for two years ovel
the property and in the mean.
time he had been held up or
construction of the subdivision
Property value went UP during
that time, he said.
II should have gotten another
100000 for damages" Mr.. Eie
declared.
He added he would be willing
to pay $1.25 square foot fol-
frontage anywhere along Geor-
gia avenue. He said he had been
holding the frontage for eventual
commercial use.
The real estate man cited sale.
in the Silver Spring bushes.
area as an indication of lane
value variances.
There, he said a piece of prop.
erty recently sold for $50 9
square foot while a half blocl
away another lot brought only 81
q square foot.
MIR. Fig originally asked $780,
600 for the property, according