Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: [v. 91, no. 2357]: May 17, 1913

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1036 RECORD AND GUIDE May 17, 1913 ALTERATIONS TO OLD DWELLINGS An Evidence That the Neighborhood Is in a Transitional State— How the Income of a Madison Avenue Property 'Was Increased. AS a general rule tlie alteration of a building, when its character or use is changed from that of its original pur¬ pose, indicates the initial step of the transition stage of a neighborhood. This transition is going on almost continuously in New York City and is the direct effect of our rapid and splen¬ did growth. Sometimes the changes come so quickly that there is no time for the alteration stage, and good sub¬ stantial buildings, adequate for many years more of use in their original form, must give way to the march of progress and be torn down to 'be replaced by new ones built on more modern lines and better fitted for their new require- m.ents, "Owners and builders, and their real estate advisers, usually give the ques¬ tion of an alteration or a new building where some change is advisable, deep consideration," remarked Charles Grif¬ fith Moses, vice-president of the J. Romaine Brown Company, "It is only where the final character of a neighbor¬ hood is not definitely determined, or where a temporary change can supply adequately the new demands, that an alteration is decided on, rather than demolition and replacement, "In the financial and office building districts many comparatively modern and substantial buildings have been razed in the last few years, and the sites reimproved by the erection of new buildings to be used for the same pur¬ poses as were those destroyed. The first impression had of this condition is one of waste, but on more careful con¬ sideration, the sound economics of the situation became quite apparent, "The high land values, the advanta.ges of larger building units and the desira¬ bility of special buildings for banking houses or large corporations frequently make it profitable to destroy substan¬ tial buildings in order to clear the way for a more up-to-date improvement, "The present tendency, where an alter- Herbert M. Baer, Architect. A RECENT ALTERATION ON MADISON AVENUE. Two old dwellings were made over into stores, olHces aad apartments. BEFORE THE ALTERATION, ation is deemed more advisable than re¬ building, is toward such radical changes in the original structure as will leave little but the shell, and while such changes are classed as alterations, they are in effect substantially new build¬ ings. Alterations Benefit Everybody. "It seems to me that any judicious change in the form or character of a building, be it altera¬ tion or a new struc¬ ture, is of unques¬ tioned benefit to all concerned. It is cer¬ tainly a glowing tribute to Manhattan land values to realize that they can and do advance so rapidly and that they absorb the value of a substantial and more or less appro¬ priate building within twenty or twenty- five years of its com¬ pletion," The attached il¬ lustrations show a good example of wbat can be done in the way of re¬ modeling old private residences in order to largely increase their revenue yield, without tearing down the old buildings and putting up a new structure. These two houses, situated on Madi¬ son avenue, now known as "Madison Chambers," were leased for a long term of years by the Madison Chambers Company from Dr, Joseph .A, Blake, a surgeon, who had occupied the prem¬ ises for his offices and residence, Her¬ bert M, Baer, architect, 665 Fifth ave¬ nue, was commissioned to remodel the buildings at the smallest cost to show the greatest return. The alterations, in brief, consist of the following: Tearing out the basement and parlor floor of the old houses and installing on the ground floor three stores with janitor's quarters in the rear, and on the second floor four doctors' offices, making use of the elaborately equipped offices of Dr. Blake in the rear part of the house. .A high-speed Otis elevator was installed, making accessible the upper floors, which are laid out into two and three-room apartments with kitch¬ enette and bath; the top floor having studio rooms with skylights. On the roof, a penthouse consisting of largt artists' studios with two bedrooms, bath and kitchenette was built, leaving part of the roof for roof garden purposes. The total cost of the alterations was $25,000, The work was executed by the Grant Contracting Company in just four months' time, and the income yield was increased from a possible $7,000 or $8,000 a year gross to $25,000 a year gross. Distribution of OfBce Buildings. While the geographical limits within which office buildings are being con¬ structed have not been materially ex¬ tended in recent years, there continues to be a decided movement in the north¬ ern direction. More office buildings are being annually erected in midtown than formerly. On the average, they natural¬ ly rule very much less in bulk than the skyscrapers of the financial district, but they are far more numerous. Besides the buildings designed for offices exclu¬ sively, there are many of the class in¬ termediate between the open loft and the thoroughly subdivided office build¬ ing which are either in course of con¬ struction now or have been completed recently. A long period of years has intervened since the pioneer office building of the modern type was erected in the various uptown sections where offices have since multiplied, as around Madison Square, Greeley Square, Times Square, the Grand Central Station, in the lateral streets near the Pennsylvania Station, and, of course, along Broadway and the new Fifth avenue. In most of these sections there are old office buildings descended from a period anterior to the appearance of the skyscraper. The pres¬ ent movement, wonderful as it is to be¬ hold, consists, then, mainly in the mul¬ tiplication of steel skeleton office build¬ ings within geographical limits long ago established. City's Financial Activities. Comptroller Prendergast has issued a pamphlet giving a summary of the city's financial activities during the first three months of the present year, paral¬ leled with the figures for the first quar¬ terly period in 1912, The purpose of this quarterly report is to present concisely the vast financial transactions of the City of New York, which equal in amount the combined fiscal action of the ten next largest cities in the United States, The general plan of the report is such as to make clear the general purposes of the city's expenditures and outlays, and the main sources from which it derives its revenues.