Frontier Town Properties, Inc. v. State

36 A.D.2d 148, 319 N.Y.S.2d 3, 1971 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 4462
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedMarch 16, 1971
DocketClaim No. 45891
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 36 A.D.2d 148 (Frontier Town Properties, Inc. v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Frontier Town Properties, Inc. v. State, 36 A.D.2d 148, 319 N.Y.S.2d 3, 1971 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 4462 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1971).

Opinion

Staley, Jr., J.

These are cross appeals from a judgment in favor of claimant, entered January 7,1969, upon a decision of the Court of Claims.

Pursuant to the Highway Law and the Conservation Law, the State on November 4, 1965, appropriated about 134.593 acres of the lands owned by Frontier Town Properties, Inc., the claimant herein. That part appropriated under the Highway Law was for the purpose of the construction of the Northway, and the part appropriated under the Conservation Law for park and recreation purposes. Prior to the appropriation, claimant owned about 408 acres of which 134 acres were located east of Route 9, approximately 232 acres were located west of Route 9 and south of the Blue Ridge Road, and 42 acres were located north of the Blue Ridge Road. By the appropriation the State acquired the 42 acres north of the Blue Ridge Road and about 93 acres of the lands west of Route 9 and lying west of the center line of the [150]*150Schroon River. The area located east of Route 9 was not affected by the appropriation, and was not damaged in any degree.

The area west of Route 9 and east of the Schroon River was improved by- a theme park, which was named Frontier Town, and had for its theme an early western American town. The theme park structures included among others, a fort and stockade, a school house and church, a two-story blockhouse, a trading post, leathercraft and saddlery shop, a stage station, a railroad station and steam railroad, a rodeo area with spectator stands, a blacksmith shop, stage coach trails, etc. In addition, there were a 27-unit motel and a restaurant seating 175 people. This area had 1,400 feet frontage on Route 9 and somewhat less frontage on the southerly side of Blue Ridge Road. The road frontage was generally at grade with the highway for a depth of 40 to 50 feet where it gradually .sloped down to three descending plateau areas.

On the first plateau the motel was located with a parking area. On the second plateau the restaurant, entrance building, parking area and a swimming pool had been developed. The theme park was located on the lowest plateau which remained generally level to the east bank of the Schroon River. The theme park area, which had opened in 1952, and had been gradually enlarged, was improved with numerous buildings and attractions, and other improvements consistent with its main theme, an early western town.

The area west of the Schroon River contained a part of Palmer’s Pond, a body of water established by the damming and impounding of the waters of Schroon River, a powerhouse formerly used in connection with the dam, a farmhouse and barn, and the remains of an old community known as Roth’s Forge. This area had considerable frontage on Blue Ridge Road which also ran fairly close to the north boundary of Palmer’s Pond and about 15 feet above the pond level. The east frontage of the pond was slightly above the pond level, and the south frontage of the pond sloped fairly steeply uphill to a high point of about 1,200 feet above sea level. There were approximately 3,400 feet of pond frontage. That part of this parcel which included the pond and power house was acquired from Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation in March, 1965.

The area of 42 acres north of Blue Ridge Road had about 1,300 feet of broken frontage on the road. The rear of the parcel was mountainous, rising to about 1,250 feet above sea level. About 6 acres of the frontage were reasonably level and developable. The road frontage was opposite and across the road from [151]*151Palmer’s Pond. This section contained a sand bank with approximately 120,000 cubic yards.

Claimant’s president testified as to the contemplated future plans for development of the area west of the Schroon River and south of the Blue Ridge Road for theme park purposes, in conjunction with the existing operation with part of this area to be designated as ‘‘ Frontiers of Electricity ’ ’ and ‘ ‘ Frontiers of Industry ’ ’, with the pond area to be known as ‘ Maritime Frontiers ”. A “ Frontiers of Aviation ” was to be located east of the Schroon River at an airstrip. Two operators of other theme parks testified on behalf of claimant as experts in the operation of a theme park to the effect that one of the main considerations of such an operation was the availability of land for expansion purposes, citing the need for changes in attractions to maintain an increased attendance.

One of the claimant’s appraisal experts divided the total acreage into “heartland” 232 acres, and “perimeter land” 183 acres, and found the highest and best use at the time of the taking was a theme park. He determined the before value of land to be $515,500 assigning $1,500 per acre to the “ heartland ” area, and $500 per acre to the “perimeter” land. He determined the before value of the buildings and improvements to be $1,284,500, arriving at a total before value of $1,800,000. The after value of the property he concluded to be $330,000, of which he assigned $130,000 to land and $200,000 to buildings and improvements.

The second appraisal expert for claimant testified that he attempted to use three approaches to value. Although he could find no sales of operating theme parks as a comparable in following the approach of comparable sales, he asserted that ‘ ‘ as a simulation to this approach I contacted owners of theme parks to get their opinions as to what comparable sales values might be.” The second approach to valuation is what he called the “ cost approach ”. He testified that in this approach he relied on claimant’s other expert “ for cost or reproduction cost new, less depreciation, of buildings and of land. ’ ’ His so-called ‘ ‘ cost method ” was in reality a sales method of valuation as to the land, because he testified that he based the land values on claimant’s other expert’s analysis. His third method of valuation was the “income or economic approach” which utilized the “discounted cash flow method ”. This method of valuation required the appraiser to project the future income and costs of the theme park including the cost of constructing the attractions which were allegedly proposed for the land taken by the State. In doing so, he considered increased attendance, if the [152]*152park were expanded as contemplated, the future income to be derived, the cost of development of the area, and arrived at a before value of $2,093,500. He concluded that the taking precluded the possibility of adding new attractions; that the 12-month period ending on August 30, 1970 would be the last year of profitable operation; and that a prudent person would abandon operations on April 30, 1970. He then determined the after value of the property to be $383,000.

One of the State’s appraisers divided the claimant’s property into three parcels finding (1) the area west of Route 9, south of the Blue Ridge Road, and east of the Schroon River to have a highest and best use as a theme park; (2) the area east of Route 9 as commercial, residential and recreational development land ; and (3) the land west of the Schroon River as recreational and residential development land. In his opinion the highest and best use after the taking did not change. He arrived at a before value of $648,500 and an after value of $624,300.

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Bluebook (online)
36 A.D.2d 148, 319 N.Y.S.2d 3, 1971 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 4462, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/frontier-town-properties-inc-v-state-nyappdiv-1971.