480 PARKS 



houses were erected on this street facing the park. The outlook is beautiful, 

 interesting, and the recreational facilities are close at hand. It will be good 

 rental property, much more so than if the park were not there, and this 

 in spite of the fact that the people were not materially interested in the 

 rise of real estate values. The value of homes became firmly established 

 where before they tottered because of uncertain pending improvements. 



The case of Mt. Curve Triangle was rather unique and unusual. This 

 little tract of land, comprising two and one-quarter acres, is in the heart of 

 what was at one time the finest residence section of Minneapolis. Still a 

 very fine section, it was being threatened by apartment houses, and a move- 

 ment was on foot to erect a very large apartment hotel on this very site. 

 This was deemed very objectionable from the point of view of the people 

 in the district and they appealed to the Board of Park Commissioners to 

 acquire and improve it as a park. Condemnation proceedings were instituted 

 and the property appraised at a little less than $75,000, with the improve- 

 ments estimated at $23,000. The whole investment, including cost of pro- 

 ceedings, was a little over $100,000. The effect of the establishment of this 

 park would necessarily be much restricted to the property immediately 

 around the park, which, in turn, necessitated assessments of a very high 

 nature, going as high as $20 per front foot. It was very difficult for anyone 

 acquainted with the situation to see where any such rise in real estate values 

 would obtain from the establishment of such a park and, consequently, they 

 were very reluctant about recommending the assessments. The people in 

 the district, however, were largely in favor of the establishment of the 

 park. This case is cited as one in which the benefits were not measured by 

 a rise in real estate value but one in which the neighborhood deemed the 

 expense necessary to maintain the high standard of the residence district 

 and were willing to pay dearly to prevent a depreciation in realty values. 

 Whether the assessment was justified or not will never be determined. 

 The special assessment method has been widely used in the acquisition and 

 improvement of boulevards and parkways but usually in a combination 

 method whereby part of the expense is borne by the community as a whole 

 and part by the benefited property in the vicinity of the improvement. 



Diagrams showing the method of arriving at assessment payments for 

 playground and neighborhood play field-parks, as practiced in Minneapolis, 

 Minnesota. 1 These diagrams are intended to show a scientific method of 

 arriving at payment, and are based on certain rules formulated from experi- 

 ence in Minneapolis. The theory on which these rules are founded is that 

 distance from the improvement and frontage and depth of parcel assessed 

 are the only factors to be considered in levying the assessment, which must 



1 Second Annual Report, City Planning Commission, Duluth, Minnesota, 1924, pages 41-42. 



