ROOT OF ALL EVIL



How much would Central Park be worth if it were to be sold off for construction? Jimmy Dundas, Edinburgh, UK One would perhaps say "priceless" in the sense that such a situation could never arise and so it would be impossible to arrive at a sensible figure. Hence priceless. Jack Hill, St Albans, England It would depend on how it was divided up. As a single lot it would likely have no buyer, no one could afford it or find justifiable alternative use for it. If it were subdivided into small building lots, then you could do some calculations. Average land value in Manhattan is about $US1000/sqft. Central Park extends from 59th St. to 110th St. (about 2.5mi) and from 8th Ave to 5th Ave (about 0.5mi) so that's 1.25sqmi or about 35 million sqft. That's $35 billion. All kinds of other factors would come in, of course. Land prices will dip if there's a sudden glut. Some of the land would have to be devoted to roads and public spaces. Jay Weedon, New York, NY, USA With sea levels rising at an alarming rate, I'd say Central Park, Manhatten in general, is living on borrowed time and not a futures investment worth thinking about. Daniel Lillford, Bridgetown. Nova Scotia Canada Central Park is 848 acres, which translates to over 39 million square feet. At US$1,000/square foot, Central Park is worth over 39 trillion dollars. Jay Thomas, NYC USA Priceless! Central Park should never, and never will be, sold off for construction. New York wouldn't be New York without Central Park just like London wouldn't be London without Big Ben, Toronto wouldn't be Toronto without the CN Tower. If it wasn't for Central Park, I don't think NYC would be as great as it is today. Emily, Milton, Ontario, Canada Sorry folks. Wrong estimates. $1000 a sq/ft is average (a bit low actually) and that's for developed real estate. A skyscraper with 50 floors is worth $1000 a square foot on all 50 floors. Moreover, Central Park is prime real estate, you are looking at closer to $2000 to $3000 a square foot for that area. Plus the retail in the bottom. The New Yorker did an interesting article in 2007 (prices have gone up) which estimated approximately $600bn (guess was driven by real estate agents who priced it). Virgin land in New York is priceless and would be built with 50 to 70 story hotels. Note that the Time Warner center (the most recent new construction), is valued around $1.5bn and from (crude) calculations sits on about 2 acres of land so $750m an acre developed or probably $550m undeveloped. (Central park is almost 900 acres). TW, New York US Working off $1,000 per square foot. And with the park being 840 acres = 36,590,400 square foot. 36,590,400 x 1,000 = 36.59 billion dollars Karl, Manchester UK Why is everyone making their calculations based on one floor buildings? Do you think they would decide to build one story ranch homes on the most expensive real estate in the world? Doubtful. Nick, New York USA



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