AND







NEW YORK, JANUARY 18, 1913







THE  OLD  NEW  YORK  SUBURB  AND  THE  NEW





Small Operators Have Given Way to Large-Scale Enterprises, the Purpose of
Which Is to Develop Entire Communities—Selling   Methods Changed, Too





By WILLIAM HERBERT





IT is an interesting fact that at the
very time when the movement of
population from, the centre of the city
to the outlying districts is likely to be
larger, both absolutely and proportion¬
ally, than it ever has been in the history
of New York, the suburban develop¬
ment companies are doing more than
ever before to attract residents to the
open country. They are adopting a
much better conceived group of meth¬
ods to sell their property than was
formerly the case, and they are making
it both easier and pleasanter for the city
resident to move out to the suburbs.
These methods have been gradually
worked out as the result of a long and
trying process of development. They
are the consequence of many failures
and successes, of much ingenuity and
experimentation, and of the necessary
employment of constantly larger sup¬
plies of capital.

The   Pioneers.

The original exploiter of suburban
property was usually a man of small
capital, who merely tried to make a
quick turn on a rising market. He
would purchase an available tract of
land, lay out the lines of a few streets,
without spending much of anything on
the improvement of the property, and
then ofTer the lots for sale. Usually the
sale was made at auction, and was wide¬
ly advertised in the newsapers. An at¬
tempt to attract a crowd to the prem¬
ises was made by hiring a brass band,
furnishing food and drink, and some¬
times by the ofifer of transportation.
These sales might be attended with a
considerable measure of success during
a time of rising prices and antecedent
public interest, but they obviously con¬
stituted a very poor method of develop¬
ing suburban property and attracting
permanent and desirable residents to a
particular vicinity. Many of the pur¬
chasers were petty speculators, who had
no intention of improving, so that this
method   of   development   was   adapted





only to comparatively cheap property
and to distinctly second-rate neighbor¬
hoods.

More  Responsible  Methods.

There succeeded a period in which
more responsible methods were used
and the appeal was made to a better
class of buyers. During this period the
average development company was
obliged to invest a much larger amount
of capital in its business than was for¬
merly necessary. An attempt was made
to secure a comparatively attractive
piece of property; and this tract was
laid out with more or less care, so as
to bring out its natural advantages, and







RESIDENCE  OP A.  SWEITZER.
Estates ot G"reat Neck.





offer desirable residential sites. It was
fully "improved"; that is, it was pro¬
vided with all the necessities and con¬
veniences, such as sewers, water, elec¬
tric light, etc., which modern American
house builders cannot do without. In
the better class of enterprises restric¬
tions began to be imposed upon the
purchasers. They were sometimes re¬
quired to build within a certain period
or to put up a house of not less than
a definite cost. Nuisances of all kinds
were prohibited. It was gradually
learned that a suburban settlement was
by way of being a community, and that,
if certain common standards were im¬
posed on all purchasers, the result was
likely to be a much more substantial
success. But such a success implied
the investment of a great deal of cap¬
ital and somewhat slow returns. These
methods worked in favor of the large,
experienced company, which was devel¬
oping a number of different tracts at
the same time, which knew precisely
what conditions to impose, and how
much of an investment it could afford
to make, and which could afford to main¬
tain a large and efficient selling agency.
Increasing Supply.
This phase of suburban development
operations was characteristic of the
early years of the 20th century. During
1905 and 1906 the companies using these
methods in an intelligent and honest
manner were extremely prosperous. A
period of expanding business coincided
with a period of real estate excitement
all over the country. In the vicinity
of New York real estate on the margin
of the city which was suitable for sub¬
urban development, or soon would be,
advanced rapidly and considerably in
price. An unusually large number of
small investors were in the market, and
an unusually large number of Manhat¬
tan residents were being driven from
the city by the increase in rents. At
the same time, the large demand for
suburban lots naturally had the effect
of   increasing   the   supply.     Many   new