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April 23, 1910
RECORD AND GUIDE
859
iSTABUSHED-^ *WJ^CH 2lit^ 1868.
.DnGrEDpf^L Estate,BuiLDir/o AR,afrrEeTi;ilE,t{ausEifou)DEflaEiAnoil,
Busotess Atto Themes or GEjto^^l IKtefiest..
PRICE PER YEAR IN ADVANCE EIGHT DOLLARS
Communications should be addresseil to
C. W. SWEET
fablished EVery Satardap
By THE RECORD AND GUIDE CO.
president, CLINTON W. SWEET Treasurer, P. W. DODGE
Vice-Pres. & Genl. Mgr,, H, W. DESMOND Secretary, F, T, MILLER
Nos. 11 to 15 East 24th Sfreet, New York City
(Telephone, Madison Square, 4430 to 4433.)
"Entered at the Post Office at New Yorlv, N. Y., as s-rcund-cJass matter."
Copyrighted, 1910, by The Record Se Guide Co,
Vol LXXXV.
APRIL 23, 1910.
No. 2197
AN INTERESTING- FEATURE of the recent real es¬
tate market' has been the evidence it affords that
the process o£ reconstruction on the West Side is about
to begin in good earnest. That section has hitherto escaped
for the most part the attention of the reconstructors. They
have been busy converting old brownstone residences south
of the Park into business buildings, and similar residences
east of the Park into apartment houses or modern American
basement dwellings. But on the West Side there has as
yet been practically no replacement of old by new buildings.
During the past week two such operations have been an¬
nounced. One builder bought a large plot in West 79th
street, which is to be improved with a twelve-story apart¬
ment house; aud. In so doing he is only following the ex¬
ample of another builder, who some weeks ago purchased a
similar plot for the same purpose on the same street. Still
another builder proposes to tear down three residences in
West 74th street and erect an eight-story apartment house
in their place. There can be little doubt that the beginning
made by these operations will be pursued gradually, but
steadily, and that little by littie private houses situated
either on the avenues or the wide side streets will be re¬
placed. There is every reason why this should be the case.
The value of private houses on the West Side has no more
than held its own, in spite of tbe fact that their construction
has practically ceased. At the same time the value of land
available for improvement with flre-proofed apartment
houses has become increasingly valuable. The inference
is obvious. In spite of the talk that, at least on the West
Side, apartments have become more rather than less ex-
* pensive as compared with private houses, the demand for
them has not been checl^ed. People will not pay more than
a certain sum for a West Side residence; and this fact makes
real estate much more valuable for multiple than for single
dwellings. The old private houses would be replaced witb
much greater rapidity than is now the case, were it not for
the tenement house law. That statute prevents the erection
of apartment houses more than ninety feet high on most of
the side streets; and usually it is hard to figure out a proflt
from the replacement of private houses with only an eight-
story multiple residence. For a good many years this pro¬
cess of reconstruction will be largely conflned to the wider
streets and to the avenues. Eventually, however, it will
spread to the 60-foot streets, and it will become a much
commoner form of building operation, in the case of such
streets on the West than it has been on the East Side, On
the East Side the private house on the side street has more
than held its own, and it will probably continue to do so for
another twenty years.
ANOTHER REAL ESTATE TENDENCY which has been
increasingly conspicuous of late is the growing relative
importance of the district north of 34th street for the pur¬
poses of retail trade. Not only is there a continued migra¬
tion of retail houses, from 23d street and farther south to
the vicinity of 42d street, the latest instance being that of
G. P. Putnam's Sons, but firms which have become well
established on 5tli avenue between 23d and 34th streets are
also migrating further north. Evidently this part of 5th
avenue has been losing; ground as a site for the highest grade
of retail store; and it looks probable that in the end the par¬
ticular section will be absolutely dominated by the wholesale
rather than the retail trade. It bas already taken possession
of 4th avenue and of tais side streets west of Broad-way. It
is gradually fastening its grip on Madison avenue, and on
the side streets between Madison avenue and Broadway.
Eventually it -\\'ill probably occupy both 6th and 7th avenues,
although it is possible that Tth avenue may come in for a
good many retail stores. Under such conditions it is
hardly possible that 5th avenue between 26th and 32d
streets will not become less and less desirable for the bet¬
ter class- of retail stores, and, that an increasing number of
the best firms will not migrate further north. The whole
neigh-borhood will assume a character, which will make it
disagreeable and inconvenient for shoppers. The wholesale
trade wherever it becomes dominant has an inevitable ten¬
dency to drive away good retail traders. If such should be
the result on this part of 5th avenue, a certain recession of
values may well take place. The wholesale trade really
cannot afford to give much higher prices to real estate than
those which now prevail on 4th avenue. The ground fioors
on 5th avenue will, of course, continue to be much more
valuable than the ground floors of a 4th avenue building;
the difference in value will not be as great as the difference
in price now is.
IF IT DOES PROVE to be the case that retail trade of the
higher class will in the course of time be crowded out
of the whole district, south of about 32d street, the effect
of this migration upon tbe retail section, further north, will
he of even greater interest than its effect upon the old sec¬
tion south of 34th St. The additional area north of 34th
street, available for the best class of retail business is not
very large. Fifth . avenue itself is now occupied almost
solidly as far up as SOth street. Many purchases and leases,
particularly for interior decorators, have recently been made
between 50th and 59th streets on tbe avenue; but evidently
the character of the ownership is such that the private resi¬
dences on these streets will be only gradually replaced; and
the same is true of the side streets north of about 48th
street, Madison avenue frora SSth to 41st street is also, ex-
eluded from reconstruction at least as long as J. P. Morgan
lives. Consequently retailers who are looking for sites will
usually be forced to select them either on the side streets
or on Madison aveuue north of 42d street; and the area
so available is wholly inadequate to satisfy the future de¬
mand—particularly in case the migration from sites south
of 34th street increases in volume. it becomes, con¬
sequently, an exceedingly interesting matter to predict the
other streets and avenues north of 42d street which retail
trade of the better class will eventually occupy. Any such
prediction can only be a guess; but, in the opinion of the
Record and Guide the general course of development will
be something as follows. During the next few years Sth
aveuue and the side streets, particularly 57th street will be
gradually occupied, and a large part of Madison avenue
north of 42d street will also have been absorbed. In the
mean time the work on the Grand Central Terminal will
be finished, and thereafter it is eutireiy possible that Park
avenue and the side streets, particularly 57th street, will be
retail traders who can afford to pay high prices. Fully ten
years will elapse before the area defined above will be fully
developed. Thereafter what will happen is even more of a
guess; but it looks as if Sixth avenue north of 45th street,
would necessarily become increasingly valuable for retail
purposes at a still more remote time; it is even possible that
the Broadway-Lexington Avenue Subway may do something
for the retail development of Lexington avenue between
42d aud 59th streets. Real estate operators should study
this situation very carefully. The man who can guess the
remoter consequences of this migration of the retail trade
can make a good deal of money out of a comparatively small
investment.
IN SPITE OF THE FACT that Buffalo has by a popular ma¬
jority declared in favor of a commission form of local
government, there is little chance of the Legislature con¬
senting thereto. The wise constitutional statesir-^" at Al¬
bany who make our instruments of government for us have
decided that administration by an elective responsible com¬
mission would be dangerous for Buffalo, and consequently
they propose to treat the new Buffalo charter just as they
treated the Ivins charter for New York, In both cases the
reasons determining their action were the same. The politi¬
cal machine al-^-ays opposes a simplified, efficient and respon¬
sible instrument of government, because its leaders under¬
stand that their power depends upon the maintenance of a
complicated, expensive and irresponsible instrument. The
allegation that government commission under the conditions