Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: [v. 95, no. 2465: Articles]: June 12, 1915

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REAL ESTATE AND k^ BUILDERS [WIPE, NEW YORK, JUNE 12, 1915 HifliliSFT......... laiH^^ Iiiiiii iiiiMiimiiiii^^ THE CITY'S COURT HOUSE PROBLEM Views of Experts on What Is Best to Be Done- The Greater Civic Center Project Challenged—A New Court House Is Imperative ■iliiilM^^ liiiiiilllH p OMPTROLLER PRENDERGAST V-^ has filed with the Board of Estimate a statement predicting; that the new courthouse and site will cost $25,000,000. or $8,000,000 more than President Mc¬ Aneny estimates, and advising against the further continuance of the project. He says the Board of Estimate has proceeded vvith this great financial un¬ dertaking in the face of business condi¬ tions which some of thc members of the board are daily describing in the press as most unfavorable. He nuotes some of his colleagues as saying that "If ever there was a time when public expendi¬ tures should be curbed, this is the period." In view of this stand on the part of the Comptroller of the city, realty and business interests are asking if it is not time to pause and consider. In fact, it is said that the members of the Board of Estimate are waiting to hear from the people on the matter, and that some are inclined to support tbe Comptroller. Important interests suggested to the Record and Guide to ascertain if possi¬ ble the consensus of opinion among business men as to what should be done under the circumstances. In the minds of some of those interviewed the court¬ house problem divided itself into three parts. First, the construction of the l)uilding, second the acquisition of the site, and third, the making of a civic center to extend from City Hall Park to Manhattan Bridge with a grand boulevard and concourse of public build¬ ings. One thing that seemed to be agreed to was that the civic center pro¬ ject should not be linked up with the courthouse plans at this time. Sounding Public Opinion. It seemed to be the predominating opinion that the construction of the* building should somehow proceed, but that the civic center scheme is too am- Ititious and should be disconnected from the court house undertaking proper, and every bit of land not actually needed for a site disposed of. Said a very representative real estate authority: "Irrespective of the cost of the Iiuilding, it will cost fifteen million dol¬ lars for the land, when the original pro¬ posal of the Court House Board did not contemplate expending one dollar for land. The city has been led on by de¬ grees by city planners until it contem¬ plates an improvement whicli may cost as much as one hundred million dollars, at the price New York i)ays for things. "I am thinking of that ambitious civic center scheme of Mr. McAneny's. of which the court house site forms only a part. The excessive amount of land for the court house site was no doubt pur¬ chased as part of the civic center plan. "We simply cannot afford it. In my opinion, I think it would be better to sell off the land and build on a less ex¬ pensive site. It certainly would be a wise thing to do, if the city has not com¬ mitted itself too far, to go back to the City Hall Park site, remove the present building, as the Court House Board first proposed, and build there, meanwhile lOIt.XlCST FLAGG". Criticises tiie .^itc of the new tourt housc. renting court rooms in adjacent build¬ ings. That is the way a business man would solve the problem. At any rate, the civic center scheme should be shelved as altogether too extravagant." The Committee on Civic Improve¬ ments of New York Chapter, A. I. A., has submitted to Acting Mayor Mc¬ Aneny a plan for shifting the Court House to a site nearer to the Municipal Building. As explained by Ernest Flagg .of the committee, this plan would cost less to carry out, as there is less disturb¬ ance of existing streets. It occupies less land and the salvage would be !;reater. Instead of releasing only 101,000 square feet for sale or other use by the city, it releases 208,650 square feet or over 100 per cent. more. The saving on this item would doubtless amount to several million dollars. It provides better and larger sites for other public buildings in case they are needed. It provides some park area about the building. It adds about 25,000 square feet to the area of Mullierry Bend Park. "The adoption of this plan would mean a saving of $6,000,000," continued Mr. Flagg. "The plan put forward by the Court House Board seems to us de¬ fective in vital particulars, and should not. we think, be approved by the Board of Estimate and App-irtionment or liy thc .\rt Commission." A Great Architect's Opinion. Mr. Flagg was of the opinion that a great mistake had heen made in the selection of the site. "The heart of the legal district is, and always will be. in the heart of the finan¬ cial district," he said. "When the mat¬ ter was under advisement I suggested a site for the building which would have cost far less and have been as much bet¬ ter and more convenient, as it was more economical. I refer to the three small blocks bounded on the east by Battery Park, on the west by Coenties Slip Park and on the south by the new Plaza in front of the Municipal Ferry Houses. "This site would have therefore been perpetually open. Moreover, its cost to the city would have soon been entirely offset by increased taxes from the land lying between it and the financial dis¬ trict^ No Telling What It WiU Cost. "If the method usually followed in the erection of our public buildings is used in building the Court House, then there is no telling what it will cost. That plan is to start work on somebody's esti¬ mate and afterwards discover it was a mistaken one. The Capitol at Albany is a shining example of what may be ex¬ pected under this method; the original estimate for that building was exceeded by five or six hundred per cent. It is safe to say that nine times out of ten, when work is done in this way, the esti¬ mates are overrun by from one hundred to several hundred per cent. "If, by good luck, the estimate in this case is exceeded by only one hundred, or one hundred and fiftv per cent., and the building is paid for from the pro¬ ceeds of fifty year l)onds, then it will have cost the taxpayers, before they are through with it, from $60,000,000 to $70,000,000; for every dollar spent will cost, with the interest, three dollars. To be sure, the city will have the use of the l)uilding, but the rent will be unneces¬ sarily high. Get Bids on All. "This difficulty can be avoided by starting work only after bids have been received and accepted for the building complete in every detail. Common pru¬ dence and past experience demand that this be done and the taxpayers should demand it also, "The city ought not to go in debt for the building at all. That plan is sure to lead to extravagance. "Pay as you go, is just as sound_ a doctrine for a communitv as for an in¬ dividual. "New York has no real need for a court house of the kind proposed. The present one has many defects but for very little, they could all be cured. The court rooms are spacious and well lighted. The dependencies are cramped, but by sacrificing a few of the court rooms, this defect could be obviated and the additional court rooms needed might I)e provided in a building one quarter the size of the one contemplated." Mr. Marling Would Proceed at Once. Alfred E. Marling, president of Hor¬ ace S. Ely & Company, said: "I believe the wise step for the city to take in connection with the court house is to proceed at once to build it and stop further loss in interest, etc. The site has been secured at a great cost, the plans for the building have been approved and careful estimates se¬ cured, and Mr. McAneny is authority for