SUPREME COURT

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 293, 30 August 1918, Page 7

SUPREME COURT

CITY PROPERTY VALUES A CLAIM FOR COMPENSATION The hearing of tho claim brought by flit! Duke Buildings, Ltd., against the City Corporation for compensation lor liiiul 'taken for street-widening purposes in Willis Street was continued in the Supreme Court yesterday boforu His Honour Mr. Justico Hoskmg and two assessors,-Mr. G. H. Scales being I'm , the claimants and. Mr. C. B. Morison, K.C., for the city corporation. Mr. M.Alyors, with him Mr. (I. Watson, appeared for the Dukn Buildings, Ltd., and Mr. A. Gray, IC.C., with him Mr. J. O'Shca, city solicitor, for the city corporation. The statement of claim act out that for tho land to be takon tho company claimed £2530, and claimed a further sum of £9210 for severance and loss or revenue, tho total claim beini' J'or i, 11,740. The case for the defence was conliiuicd, the first witness being Thomas JJwan, a incmbur of the firm of Dwan I Bros., land; agents and hotel brokers. Witness said he had been in business for thirty-five years. Ho was a .member of the Assessment Court as the nominee of the corporation. He knew the site of tho Duke of Edinburgh Hotel very well, and knew Unit the corporation was taking 10ft. of land. He had seen the plans :for reconstructing the building prepared by'.Mr. Mitchell, of Atkin, Bacon, and"'Mitchell, aittl ho was of opinion that if the plans were carried out in reconditioning tho building, the property would be enhanced in value. Ho gave that opinion on his own knowledge of tho practical working of an hotel. Ho thought tho Willis Street frontage of the hotel was moro valuable than the Maur r.ors Street frontage. Ho was of opinion that sis o'clock closing had had tho effect of bringing about a reduction of hotel rentals generally. Walter L. Thompson, builder, who said he had had thirty-tJirco years' oxjK'rieiice, considered that tho plans prepared by Mr. Mitchell gave a workable scheme of reconstruction. They would, in his opinion, make tho hotel building more compact. In May, 1917, he propared an estimate of the cost of carrying out the proposed alterations nmounting to £2321. The alterations could be carried out in three months.

Archibald Jl. Wilson, builder, said hj had made an ostimato of the cost of reconstructing the hotel ou tho plans prepared by Mr. Mitchell, and jus price was £2379. That, was in May, 191.7, and he thought the present cost would bo nbout "fi per cent. "more. Ja.'ijps Ames, City Valuator, said he had b&'ii .the valuator ifor the past forty yoirs, nnd was the. Government Valiiorfnr the city. In 1914 he made the valuation. <i\ the greater part of the city. Us valued , tho laud , on which .the Duke of Edinburgh Hotel stood at £Ji>.efiG; on the 78ft.._ fronAngo hy on. irregular-depth to Willis Strcot. Ho valued the i\holi> property at

£20,000. His value of tho. Lr-v! was i'2oo p?r foot, and that was its full vahnj >)s r> comer section.' J'Vi , many

.years this nroparty lincl been valued on its Manners Street frontage. Ho valued the new portion of the hotel in Willis Street at' £225 per foot for iatiiifi purposes, awl its real value was about £250 per foot. Mr. Ames also Ksivo the values placed iipim iho adjoining properties in Willis MtreH, and ■'showed that two of the properties he had valued at the amount of his valuation. Tlie Empire Hotel lie valued in 1914 at £59,180, and in 1915 the hotel was sold for £59,800. The further hearing of the. case was adjourned.until..this morning.