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Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 84, no. 2178: December 11, 1909

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December ii, 1909 Tfcj—-^W*' >->- RECORD AND GTJIDE 1039 DptnEfl ID rfeA,LEsTATE.BmLDIffe Jk^RpKlTECTim,E.HoiJSElJ0U)te6a^«ni Bifsii/Ess Afto Themes of GejIer^I li^fTEJ^M^- PRICE PER YEAR IN ADVANCE EIGHT DOLLARS Communications should be addressed to C. W. SWEET Published Every Saturday By THB RECORD AND GTJIDE CO. President, CLINTON W. SWEET Treasurer, F. W. DODGE Vlce-Pres, ft Genl. Mgr., H, W. DESMOND Secretary. F. T. MILLER Noa. 11 to IB Ea,»t 24tli Street, New Vork Ctty (Telephone, Madison Square, 4430 to 4433.) "Entered at the Post Office at Ncic York. N. Y.. us second-class matter." Copyrighted, 1909, by The Record & Guide Co. Vol. LXXXIV. DECEMBER 11, 1909. No, 21TS THB two centres of real estate activity continue to be the new -wliolesale district to tlie nortii ol! 23d street and west of Broadway and Washington Heights. In respect to the latter section there are no new tendencies to be re¬ marked; but business continues well sustained, and renting conditions are sufficiently good in that neighborhood almost to warrant a continuation of the existing rate of activity throughout the coming year. If anything there will be a certain diminution during 1910 of the number of new apart¬ ment houses erected in Manhattan, for it must be remem¬ bered that the building of tliis class of residential accom¬ modation has attained almost record propositions during 1909. By January 1, the plaus filed for new Manhattan tenements will have called for an expenditure of almost $70,000,000 as compared with about $73,000,000 lor 1905, the year in which the building of tenements was most ac¬ tive. Considering, however, the limited area, within which tenements can be erected in Manbattan, compared with four years ago, the figures for 1909 are really more remarkable. The $70,000,000 estimated to be spent during 1909 is divi¬ ded among only one third the number of buildings, upon which the $73,000,000 were spent four years ago. In that short space of time the average cost of a tenement house erected in Manhattan has increased from about $50,000 to $150,0 00. Almost the only type of tenement uow being built in Manhattan is the six-story elevator apartment house, erected on a plot 100x100 which means, of course, that VeaHy clieap new residential accommodations are no longer being provided on Manhattan Island. In as much, consequently, as only an expensive type of living accommo¬ dation can now be built in the big borough, it can hardly be expected that the flgures for tenement house construc¬ tion in that part of the city either for 1905 or 1909 will ever be equalled. Buiiding conditions, either in respect to cheap money or in respect to cheap materials, are not so favorable as they were a year ago, so that even witb a con tini! ati on of a good demand on the part of new tenants, a certain falling off wouJd be natural. But there is no reason to suppose that this falling oii will be very considerable. The fact remains that Wash¬ ington Heights and beyond is the only district in Manhattan, containing vacant land, adapted to six-story apartment houses. All building of this character will be concentrated on that one district, aad it will necessarily be very respect¬ able in volume. At the present rate of consumption the vacant land on the Heights will only last a few years more; and the interesting question will then be: To what part of the Bronx will the building of six-story elevator apartment houses be transferred'? It is the sense that the Bronx must soon fall heir to tbe profits of this class ot new construction, which accounts for the high prices of vacant land, now pre¬ vailing in certain parts "of that borough. THE real estate movement in the new wholesale district has been assuming certain new phases of late. Dur¬ ing the past week an unprecedented amount of activity has been taking place north of 23d street and west of Sixth ave¬ nue. The value of unimproved lots on almost all the side streets has been working up to the level prevailing on 27th street; that is, to $2,000 a frout foot and over, and builders apparently would rather pay about $2,000 a front foot be¬ tween Sixth and Seventh avenues than $4,000 a front foot betweeu Broadway and Sixth avenue. At auy rate, almost twenty parcels have recently been purchased for improve¬ ment during, the coming spring, and these blocks will be by far the most active part of the new wholesale district throughout 1910. Inevitably also, these changes between Sixth and Seventh avenues, are beginning to have their effects between Seventh and Eighth avenues. Particularly during the past week there have been a great many trans¬ actions west of Seventh avenue, and apparently in certain cases early improvement is contemplated. There seems to be good reason for believing that during the next few years,' values between Seventh and Eighth avenues wil! approxi¬ mate to the level now prevailing between Sixth and Seventh avenues, and tbat these streets will gradually be improved with twelve-story loft-buildings. Iu order to understand the pressure, which may eventually be concentrated on these blocks, one has only to consider the impossibility of the extension of the wholesale district north of 3 4tb street aloug the lines of Broadway, Sixth avenue, Madison and Park avenues. Madisou and Park avenues north of 3 4th street are more valuable for residential than for wholesale purposes. Fifth avenue and Broadway north of 34th street, aud the side streets near thereto will be more valuable for shops, restaurants, theatres, office-buildiugs and hotels than they will be for loft buildings. Som.e few wholesale mer¬ chants will occupy the upper floors of the tall buildings erected thereabouts, but the great majority of commission and manufacturing firms, will niDt be able to afford the space. North of 34th street tbe hitherto prevailing move¬ ment of the wholesale trade will meet a barrier, and spread farther east aud west. It will consequently occupy the side streets as far west as Eighth avenue and as far east as Lexington avenue. ■ Eventually it may travel even farther toward the two rivers; but, for the next six or seven years, it will probably be confined to tbe limits described above. Of course in proportion as it spreads west of Seventh avenue south of the Pennsylvania Terminal, it will also tend to occupy the district west of Seventh avenue and north of 34th street. But in the beginning the side streets south of 34th street in this district will naturally have tbe preference. Tbe one uuaccouutable element in the whole problem is the extent of the effect which the Pennsylvania station will have upon its immediate vicinity. Nobody can gauge at present either Uie intensity or the radius of this influence; and this fact introduces an uncertain element in the probable future values of this immediate neighborhood—particularly on Seventh avenue itself. CONSIDERING the activity in the twenties west of Sixth avenue it is singular that 23d street has been so much neglected. This is the oue wide street in this im¬ mediate neigbborhood. Over ten years some few Ioft and office buildings had been erected ou 23d street between Sixth and Eighth avenues. Yet since the new movement began, and in spite of the activity immediately to the north and to the south, 23d street has beeu neglected. The neglect Is all the more singular, because the stores in loft buildings erected on 23d street should be as valuable as the stores in left buildings erected on, say, Fourth avenue. The only ad- vanrage which avenue property has over street property for the wholesale trade consists in the increased value of the ground floor, plus a better quality of light for some of the lower stories. Loft buildings erected on 23d street would have both of these advantages, denied to the majority of side streets, and yet not one twelve-story building has yet been planned for that street west of Sixth avenue. Pre¬ sumably the explanation is that the roadway is now con¬ gested by trolley ears, and ordinary traflic, and that conse¬ quently it would be diflicult for trucks to load and unload on 23d street. This difficulty is a real one; and property- owners on 23d street should take steps to make it less ser¬ ious. They should forego the stoop privileges they now enjoy, and have the roadway widened at the expense of the sidewalks. As soon as this change was made, 23d street would become much more available for loft buildings than it is at present. Even then, however, loft buildings erected ou 23d street should also include the lots immediately adjoin¬ ing on the rear, so that the tenants of the buildings could if necessary obtain an outlet on 22d or 24th streets. But it is certainly (ime for property-owners on 23d street to be-^ stir themselves and make sure thai they get ail the increase iu value which naturally should accrue to them from the development of the district.