April 17, 1920





RECORb   AND   GUIDE





507





Review #f ileal Estate Market for the Current Week







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QfFffth'Venue Block FrojaJ, at Fiftieth Street, by Saks, Marks New      ,,
Northern Outpost of Rejlail Trade

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retail ^e!rcantile building tlhT^ss a zoning ordinance prohibits
such an improvement.   It is ci distinctive site.

The week s activities show that tenants are buying api^t-
ment houses in the Bronx as well as in Manhattan on the
co-operative plan, or as some brokers prefer to call it, group





uCH'transpired in the real estate market this weefe

of . intierest   to   the   investor,  operator,   owner   and

broker.   Cotitainihg surprise'as well as interest was

the announcement that the lat'ge store of Saks & Company, on

the  west  side? of   Broadway,  from Thirty-third  to  Thirty-     buying.   It was also made evident that a co-operative moVe-
h  fourth str^et^vha^ been leased'for a long term beginning two'   ment is setting in among tenants in office buildings, a seven

story loft building in Harlem as well as several downtown





" years hence atid that the Saks business would be removed
then to a new builditig to be erected on the east side of Fifth
avenue, from Forty-ninth to Fiftieth street. This is the block
occupied in part by the Buckingham Hotel and the home of
the Democratic Club. Inasmuch as all of the block ];i^s been
obtained on leasehold by Saks & Company except the head¬
quarters of the Democratic Cli;)) it looks as if. that organiza¬
tion held the key to an interesting situation. Whether great
inducements will have to be made to acquire this parcel re¬
mains to be seen.

A decade ago it was predicted that large retail establish¬
ments such as Saks would never go so far north in Fifth ave¬
nue as Saint Patrick's Cathedral; and, yet, Saks has done
that very thing, which shows that blocks of churches, museums
and armories are not the deadlines of business they are sup¬
posed to be, at least in this city which is always upsetting
traditions as regards neighborhpod values and conditions.
Saks has established a new northern putpost for large retail
trade, going a mile further north in the avenue than Lord
& Taylor dared to go a few years ago and one-half mile
further than Stern Brothers deemed it feasible to go when
they located in Forty-second street less than a decade ago.
It would not be surprising if the Cornelius Vanderbilt mansion
at the Plaza and Fifty-eighth street made way for a modern





being bought by occupants. When office rentals jump from
$2,500 a year to $4i000 a year, as they did in one case, it seems
reasonable for merchants and professional men to make sure
of their locations and rental sums by co-operative buying
Many dwellings changed hands during the week, notably in
the East seventy and eighty streets, about a half dozen being
sold in one block alone. There was active dealing, too;' in
commercial buildings of medium size on the part of the city
south of Fourteenth street. Apartment house buying claimed
its full share of attention, the Bronx as well as Manhattan
contributing a good quota.

Of keen interest was the leasing of the Beaux Arts build¬
ing, at Sixth avenue and Fortieth street by the owner for! a
term of forty-two years. It would seem as if Sixth avenue
between Herald Square and Forty-second street is taking on
new form, as Seventh avenue from Pennsylvania Station to
Times Square is also doing. The news columns will show
other leases oij moment.

' Altogether it was a week that augurs well for a continued
active market. That there are hundreds, if not thousands, of
prospective investors in dwellings, apartment houses and
business buildings who will come to the surface this season is
apparent on the face of things.





PRIVATE REALTY SALES.





THE total number of sales reported but not
recorded in Manhattan this week was 138,
as again 145 last week and 98 a year ago.

Ttie number of sales south of 59th street was
57, as compared with 67 last week and 32 a year
ago.

The number of sales north of 59th street w.is
81, as compared with 78 last week and 66 a year
ago.

From the Bronx 69 sales at private contract
were reported, as against 79 last week and 66 a
year ago.

Statistical tables, indicating the number of
recorded instruments, will be found on page 515.





Large Uptown Sales.

Marking the crest of big real estate trans¬
actions uptown in Manhattan this year, the
Hendrik Hudson Annex on Broadway, and the
Arena Building at 39 and 41 West 33d street
were sold by Frederick Brown, who has figured
In many large sales for some time past, to Max
R. Natanson. It was a case of one large oper¬
ator selling to another one. The approximate
consideration was $4,500,000.

Erected about twelve years ago, the Hendrik
Hudson is an 8-story fireproof apartment houp»
occupying the entire block front on Riversidu
drive from 110th to 111th street, with a depth
of 120 feet on 110th street and a depth of 135
feet on 111th street. It contains apartments of
from six to nine rooms each and shows a gross
annual rental of $150,000.

Occupying the northwest corner of Broadway
and 110th street, the Hendrik Hudson Annex is
a 12-story fireproof apartment house, on a plot
92x175, and comprises suites of from six to
nine rooms each. There are stores in the
Broadway front. The gross annual rental is the
same as that of the Hendrik Hudson itself.

Famous in years past as the site of a place
for banquets and for good eating, the Arena
Building has been an active factor in the real
estate market in recent years.    It extends from

39   and 41 West 31et street through to 38 and

40  West 32d street, is 16 stories In height, on a
plot 50x197.8x41.4, and contains lofts and offlces.
A majority of the leases thereto expire In Feb¬
ruary,    1921.     The   Arena   yields   an   annual

rental  of  $160,000.





Mr. Brown bought the properties last year
from the receivers of the American Real Estate
Co., and they were considered among the choice
investments that the company possessed before
It became involved.





An Ancient  Holding  Sold.

Anselm Frankenthaler sold to James Moss
6 and 8 Ferry street, two 4-story business build¬
ings, on a plot 43x60. The property adjoins the
southeast corner of Gold and Ferry streets,
which is owned by Mr. Moss, and gives him s
plottage of 48x107. The estate of John Gardner
has been in possession of the property since
1790, and the heirs live abroad.





Yale University Sells Parcel.

Pease & Elliman sold for Yale University,
which was represented by Cammann, Voorhees
£ Floyd, to Mrs. A. L. Morton, for occupancy,
the 4-story and basement brownstone dwelling,
150 East 37th street, on a lot 20x98.9.





Activity in  Barrow  St.

Williams-Dexter Co. bought 19 Barrow street,
a 4-story and basement brick dwelling, on a lot
25x81.1%; also 21 Barrow street, a 3-3tory
and basement brick dwelling, on a lot 25x81.1% ;
and 47 Barrow street, a 3-story and basement
frame dwelling, on a lot 21x40.





In Co-operative Hands,

Occiipying the block front, 100x180. on the
east side of Broadway, from 169th to 170th
street, Woodrow Court, a 6-story elevator apart¬
ment house, has been bought by 15 of the
tenants.

Harris & Maurice MandeAaum & Fisher &
Irving I. Lewine resold Rhinecliff Court, an
11-story elevator apartment house, at the south
corner of Riverside drive and 156th street. The
purchasers are the tenants of the building, who
will take title under a co-operative plan.





Tenants Buy a Loft Building.

A number of the tenants in the 7-8tory loft
building, on a plot 50x100, at ].'i7 and 159 Bast
128th street, bought it from B. Sharum. The
buyer."! are Herman L. Paul, Herman Gunther
and others.





Scudder  Schools   Buys  a   Home.

The Scudder School, Inc., ot West 72d street.
Dr. Myron T. Scudder, jiresident, purchased
from  Mrs.  Walter Geer the three dwellings  at





244, 246 and 248 West 72d street and the two
dwellings in the rear of 251 and 253 West 71st
street. The entire property has a frontage of 60
feet in 72d street and 33.4 in 71st street, and is
204 feet deep.

The 72d street double house at 244 and 246
bas been leased to the school for the last three
years, otgether with, for the last year, the ad¬
joining house at 248.

The Scudder school will eventually erect a
12-story flreproof building for its sole occu¬
pancy, which will have accommodations for
upward of 200 boarding students and 200 addi¬
tional  day students.





Fine Dwellings Sold.

Brown-Wheelock Co. sold tor Stuart Dun¬
can 3 Bast 75th street, a 6-story brownstone
dwelling, on a plot 50x102.2. It is one of the
spacious dwellings of the neighborhood and ad¬
joins the Harkness residence at the north
corner of Fifth avenue and 75th street. It was
built 15 years ago.





Miss Helen O. Bryce, daughter of the late
General Lloyd S. Bryce, bought the dwelling at
a East 80th street, on a lot 39.9x77.2, trom the
estate of Robert G. Remsen, who has owned
the property for 25 years. The bouse adjoins
the Fifth avenue dwelling ot the late Frank
W. Woolworth.





Richard Croker, Jr., Buys.

Richard Croker, Jr., bought the dwelling at
113 East 40th street, a 5-story brick dwelling,
on a lot 18.9x98.9. the former home of Clyde
Fitch, purchased about two years ago by Count¬
ess Du Buat. Mr. Croker owns 110 to 114
and 113 to 117 in the same street. Mrs. Anna
D. McCullough owns 115. It is understood Mr.
Croker plans the development of his property.

Numerous  Sales  in  East 72d St.

Ivan H. Josephs and David Lion sold 241 to
2."p1 Bast 72d street, six 3-story and basement
dwellings, each on a lot 16.8x102.2, forming a
plot 100.8x102.2.

George W. Goldberg sold 222 East 72d strjet,
a 3-story and basement dwelling, on a lot 18x
102.2.

Anna L. Fink sold 224 East 72d street, a S-
story and basement dwelling, on a lot 18x102.2.

Rebecca Kalisher and others sold 239 Ea^^t
72d street, a 3-story and basement dwelling, on
a lot 17.4x102.2.