Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: [v. 90, no. 2322]: September 14, 1912

Text version:

li^^l SEPTEMBER 14, 1^12 THE INCREASING IMPORTANCE OF JAMAICA Its Railroad Facilities Are Being Greatly Aided By the Building of a New Clearing Station There For All Long Island — Many New Buildings Erected in the Place. THE building of a new and larger union railroad station at Jamaica by the Long Island Railroad Company is going forward steadily, and when it is completed Jamaica Is expected to become a residential section of Queens of more importance than ever. The plans of the railroad embrace more than the mere building of a new station. Work is under way on the raising of the tracks to an embankment from 15 to 18 feet in height and extending from Jamaica to Richmond Hill, a distance of one mile, A good-sized offlce building and waiting room will be built near the tracks, the foundation of which is already in place; numerous grade crossings between Jamaica and Richmond Hill are being eliminated and concrete viaducts are being built; the covered pas¬ senger platforms, of steel and concrete, are already in place alongside some of the raised tracks, and much steel structural material Is dally arriving to be used in making a great train yard commensurate with the greatly increasing traffic of the Long Island Railroad, for which Jamaica is the distributing point to and from its various divisions except the North Shore division to Port Washington, The traffic of the entire railroad system has more than doubled within the last six years. The new station is to be 1,500 feet west of the old one, and it will have an ap¬ proach to the entrance direct from Fulton street, the principal traffic artery of Ja¬ maica, All of the establishments of the wholesale provision and produce firms ad¬ joining the north side of the old train yard are to be removed to the south side of the same, where the railroad will have the beat of facilities for handling ship¬ ments to and from them. The three-i fourths of an acre owned by one Sherwood on the line of the enlarged railroad track space In the west part of Jamaica—about which there has been lengthy litigation— is now in the courts for determination. The parcel is on the west side of Van Wyck avenue, between two lines of the road. The case has been to the Courtj of Appeals, who ordered the questions of fact submitted to a jury. Sherwood at one time asked $50,000 for the parcel; the railroad company offered him $25,000; and appraisers have declared within a few days that $12,000 is a fair and equit¬ able price for it. It is likely now that less than $25,000 will be paid. But the legal fight has delayed the progress of the work on the improvements at Jamaica more than a year. J. & T. Adikes, wholesale grocers, who have a warehouse adjoining the railroad company's frontage on Ful¬ ton street, are resisting the attempt of the company to acquire their property; but It seems likely that the company will get it before long in order to enlarge its advantages to residents of Jamaica, The trolley road between Brooklyn and Ja¬ maica passes along Fulton street. The new station Is far removed from the heart of the business section of Ja¬ maica, and in order to prevent damage to property values there and frustrate im¬ pairment of Its business conditions the railroad will build a station probably be¬ tween Puntine and Smith streets, Ja¬ maica, Jamaica's Business Section. A new station has been opened at Hill¬ side, in the east end of Jamaica. Nearly all Long Island trains stop at Jamaica, and yet its business section has not un¬ dergone any notable structural changes or Improvements in late years. The latest big improvement has been made by James Butler, a grocer, who has erected a two- story brick offlce building and store on the southwest comer of Fulton street and Twombly place. Previous to that E. C. M. Fitzgerald and H. C. McNulty erected a six-story offlce building on a plot a block deep, and at the corner of Fulton street, a block west of Butler's new store, Jamaica needs a reconstruction of Its business district. It is antiquated. A large theatre was planned for Ja¬ maica, but it has not been built. There is not a dozen modern business buildings in Jamaica, and yet it is the financial' center of Long Island outside of Brooklyn. Four trolley lines pour traffic into Ja.i maica from as many directions. The place has two modern offlce buildings and all of the title companies have their Queens headquarters in Jamaica. AU of the old buildings in the busy part of Ful¬ ton street, however, are well rented. Property In the strongest part of Fulton street, from Rockaway road to Bergen avenue, is held as high as $1,000 a front foot. Vacant property in Fulton street opposite to and near the approach to the new station is held at $400 to $500 a front foot. It is believed by those who have studied the real estate situation in Ja¬ maica that after the new station opening into Fulton street is in use that fee val¬ ues In the vicinity will rise rapidly and that the business center will shift to that point; but so far there are no strong in¬ dications that it will. The trolley lines connecting with Far Rockaway, Flushing and to points east of Jamaica now all stop at Washington and Fulton streets. In the heart of the business section. Xt is probable, however, that when the new station opens that these lines of cars will run further west In Fulton street, where easy connections with the new station- can be made. It is pointed out that the new station to be built between Smith and Puntine streets will be only a substation at the best and that trolley connections with the main station will be imperative. The trolley between Jamaica and Brook¬ lyn already passes the new station. It is asserted by some that property near this station has been purposely kept unim¬ proved until the station is in use. Structural improvements in Jamaica are the most dense in the section south of the Long Island Railroad, where hundreds of detached one-family houses have been built within the last three years. These houses range in price from $2,900 to $5,000. Most of their occupants and owners re¬ moved there from the tenement districts of Manhattan. These buildings contain all municipal improvements, but in some cases cesspools are in use where sewers have not yet been installed. Numerous two-family brick houses In rows have been built in the last two years in Union Hall street. Globe avenue and Prospect street, all south of the railroad. They sold for $4,500 each. Four years ago there were no prospects of improvement in tills part of Jamaica, The Residential Sections. Fulton street is the line of demarca¬ tion between the cheap and high clasa sections of Jamaica, North of Fulton street to and including the high ridgd skirting Hillside avenue is the best resi¬ dential part. The new station at Hillside connects directly with Jamaica Estates by way of Homer Lee avenue. The prop¬ erty known as Jamaica Estates comprises 550 acres of rolling country and has an extensive frontage on Hillside avenue. This is a high-class development in every way, is richly wooded in places, and has a fine entrance lodge. The houses built there are numerous and cost from $6,000 to $40,000. Nearby is a fine development of 230 acres known as Hillcrest of Jamaica. Prominent among its residents are Burt J. Humphrey, Judge of Queens County, and Judge Van Siclen, of the Supreme Court. This tract has undergone more extensive high-class improvement than any other part of Jamaica. All munici¬ pal improvements have been installed. The property was opened two years ago last April and since that time forty-three fine detached homes have been built, cost¬ ing from $6,800 to $25,000 each. The plots range from 40x100 feet to 100x100 feet in size. Lots 20x100 on the Hillside avenue side of Hillcrest of Jamaica are held at $1,800 each, but a plot 40x100 is the small¬ est size parcel that will be sold. The property has a frontage of 1,000 feet on Hillside avenue and it extends back to Union turnpike. Lots on the inner streets of Hillcrest sell from $700 upward, ac¬ cording to location. An extensive building movement has NEW LONG ISLAND RAILROAD TERMINAL AT JAMAICA IN COURSE OF CONSTRUCTIU-V. Photograph by Arthur Wocdward.