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Real estate record and builders' guide: [v. 91, no. 2341]: January 25, 1913

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BUILDERS NEW YORK, JANUARY 25, 1913 ijiiiiiiiiii............I........{.....iiiiiiiiiiii.............I........Ill......II.....II.....Ill......1........1...............II.......I..............Ill................mil.....iiiii.......I.....I.......I.....{iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.....Ill.....I.......■■■■I.....II.......■......iiiiiiiiiiiii TENDENCIES IN MODERN DEVELOPING | By WILLIAM HERBERT Large-Scale Methods of Operating Have Brought About Better Designed and Cheaper Houses. Iliiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii IN the last article of this series a sketch -was given of the conditions which have determined the prevailing tendencies in suburban development. It wa.s pointed out that as a consequence III the active sul)url)an movement in IVO.S ;ind 1906, followed by the panic of 19(17, competition among development' companies became severer than ever be¬ fore. Those companies whose manage¬ ment was most enterprising and which could command sufficient capital inau¬ gurated a systematic policy of creating a demand for their property by making il easier and more attractive to live in the suburbs. They began not merely to sell lots but also to build and sell houses, and once this practice was started they were compelled to make a very careful and intelligent study of the needs of their customers. Every one who has followed the course of suburban devel¬ opment at New York will admit that as a result of this study a real advance has been made, botli in the conveniences of sul)urban life and in the standards of construction and design of suburban houses. Tha development company erecting houses for sale was obliged to meet ac¬ tive competition from two sources and a powerful latent competition from a third source. It was obliged to meet the competition of other companies, some of which controlled large capital and were managed by ingenious and able men. It was obliged to meet the competition of the ordinary speculative builder of houses in the newer residen¬ tial districts of the outlying boroughs. It was obliged, finally, to satisfy many customers who had been accustomed to an exacting standard of convenience es¬ tablished in their mind by long famil¬ iarity with New York apartments. The - --.1^ il H^Sf 1 1 ■>. 1 -1 ."^>* tB^Si'ii ■'' i, ■ M' -'' 'T ■'i ■HHHb^^j ■' - ^ i-'j f ', ^■HMpPWi^WCTMh-l- -ri y,?,, m^m.'" ~ "^"V^KBt^b: w>^ vfW'i^-" •^- J>nfi^ ' P'' -| ^■- J K IH 'HIHl'' ;i 'imm fl^ ^Hvwn ■ w j wBw'iSLKa^ij^^ii :\- >i\ r 1^ ' ^ 5M |. _ -f. - i m -. i ^^^« ' -' B^K J^UBttt^^ Other Changes of the Last Few Years Have Also Been Very Favorable to Buy¬ ers of Suburban Property. ■Ill HESinEXCE OP FRED A. FLAGG. AT MURRAY HILL. Hut, particularly the cheaper sort, is (ifteu siu;ill and dark; but, from the rne- chanical point of view, it makes life very easy for the housekeeper, and a housekeeper who has been accustomed to all the latest expedients for econo¬ mizing labor will not readily return to a method of living which demands a larger expenditure for hired service or a greater exertion ot her own strength. These various sources of competition made it necessary for the development companies to individualize their houses and make them particularly attractive. Their advantage over the speculative builder consisted in the fact that they could oflfer to their customers houses which were not so monotonous in loca¬ tion and appearance as the ordinary run of houses built in rows. At the same time, these residences must con¬ form to prevailing standards of taste and conveniences; and must be offered at prices which would make a customer believe that, even though he was paying a little more for his dwelling, he was getting more for his money. He was getting a house in which he could take some pride and which was more likely to increase in value. The consequence was that, as com¬ pared to the ordinary speculative build¬ er, the development companies began ti. employ a higher grade of architect¬ ural ability and training. They did not, of course, usually engage the services of high-priced architects, such, for in¬ stance, as a man would employ who was building a house in the country at a cost of $50,000. In a few cases archi¬ tects of this class were employed with some success to design unusually ex¬ pensive houses, but as a rule their ser¬ vices are not available, both because they charge more than their market value to the company and because they are reluctant to accept conditions which are imposed by the necessity of finan¬ cial success. In and around New York, however, there are a large number of young and well-trained architectural de¬ signers, with plenty of ability and taste, but not over burdened either with money or reputation. They may be practicing themselves in a small way or they may have obtained valuable ex¬ perience in the employ of their more successful colleagues. In either event, they are glad to do some designing on their own account under certain general conditions imposed by the management of the development companies. It is young men belonging to this class who have been largely responsible for the design of attractive houses erected in sucli large numbers of late years in many of the suburbs near New York. These houses undoubtedly are, on the average, better-looking, more conveni¬ ently planned, better constructed and cheaper than they would have been in case they had been erected by the indi- THE XEW ROCHELLE TENNIS CLUB, AT WYKAGYL.