LAND AND BUILDING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 170, 20 July 1935, Page 12

LAND AND BUILDING.

CLAIM FOR COMPENSATION

GORE STREET EXTENSION'

The hearing before a Compensation Court of claims totalling £22,000 brought against the City Council for land and a five-storey building acquired under the Public Works Act for the extension of Gore Street through to Quay Street was continued in the Supreme Court yesterday and to-day. The Court is composed of Mr. Justice Callan, president, with Messrs. H. E. Vailc, W. H. Lunn and J. A. Gentles as assessors. The claimants are the Auckland Harbour Board (Mr. Barrowclough) £11,495, and J. C. Spedding, as beneficial owner of the New Zealand Heed Loom Company, Ltd. (Messrs. V. R. Meredith and McCarthy) £11,250. Mr. Stanton represented the City Council. J. C. Spedding said that lie was beneficial owner of the building, which was erected in 1907. He had transferred two of his concerns. Kretsclimar, Limited, and Langgutli, Limited, into it. Ilis business was adversely affected when it wf.s knewn that the council was to take over the building.

Cross-examined by Mr. Stanton, witness did not admit that the value of the building was decreasing as the lease was running out. In 1929 it was bought by the Reed Loom Company for. £9500. Later in the year a partner of his took over assets of the company and witness a liability of £10,800 to the bank.

Charles Frederick Bennett assessed the freehold value of the section at £6600 and the building roughly at £0930. He thought there would be a steady increase in the value of properties along Quay Street. It was a stronghold for bonded stores.

The cost of erecting Spedding's Building to-day, said Mr. L. V. Moses, architect, would be £9494. He estimated the present building as worth £72G0.