Valuing Central Park's Contributions to New York City's ... - Appleseed

Block
groups
Lot square
feet
Premium per
square foot
Total premium
1 17,823,641 $624 $11.12 billion
2 11,141,666 $355 $3.95 billion
3 18,996,278 $137 $2.60 billion
Total $17.67 billion
Table 8. Central Park’s market value premium, 2007
Market value per lot square foot
$1,200
$1,000
$800
$600
$400
$200
0
$575
1997
$583
$1,200
2007
$951
Central Park West to Columbus Ave
Columbus Ave to Amsterdam Ave
Fig. 10. Market value per lot square foot, 1997 and 2007
(2007 dollars)
In order to calculate the market value “premium” associated with
proximity to Central Park, we calculated the difference between each set
of blocks’ average market value per square foot and the $979 average for
the wider Central Park area. For each of the three block groups closest to
the Park, we then multiplied this per-square-foot difference by the total
number of lot square feet within the block group.
Based on this analysis we estimate that, as of 2007, proximity to Central
Park contributed nearly $17.7 billion in additional market value to the
properties in the three block groups closest to the Park. The results of
this analysis are show in Table 8. Overall, proximity to the Park increases
the value of properties in the three block groups closest to the Park by
approximately 18 percent – a result consistent with the findings of other
studies.
Based on this calculation, we can further estimate that the “Central Park
effect” accounts for approximately 8.1 percent of the total market value of
all Manhattan property.
The Central Park effect: increasing over time
In addition to being more valuable than those that are farther away,
properties closer to the Park have appreciated more rapidly during the
past ten years.
For example, in 1997 the blocks from 59th Street to 110th Street
between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue had an average
market value of $575 per lot square foot; the blocks from 59th Street to
110th Street between Columbus Avenue and Amsterdam Avenue had an