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Vol. LXXXVIII





DECEMBER g, 1911





No. 2282





REMODELING   ANTIQUATED   PREMISES

■  Some Remarkable Instances of Increased Revenue Obtained From Old Build¬
ings—Declining Rents Due as a Rule to   Failure to  Meet "Utility" Changes.





THE constant changes taking place in
the various business and residential
districts of the city demand careful study.
In the case of operators and brokers this
study is a part of their everyday busi¬
ness. The operator must be able to fore¬
see new conditions if he would make
profils, and he can only argue that be¬
cause certain things have transpired cer¬
tain other happenings will come to pass.
He forms his judgment, then takes his
chance and the results may or may not
prove lo his advantage. The broker's
work is somewhat similar, but aside from
assisting the operator in foretelling future
profits, he must also be able to handle
properties in their present condition and
to make them profitable to the nwner. In
other words, the broker is dealing both
with thing.s as they will be and things
as they are. He may be proficient in the
one and not in the other, and still be suc¬
cessful and serve well the interests of those





reason of trade changes, buildings have
become unsuited to the neighborhood,
they must be altered to fit the new cir¬
cumstances and to meet the needs of
other lines of trade.

The inability of the average owner to
appreciate these facts is the main reason
.why many properties in the city are not
producing the revenue that they should.
If owners, intsead of complaining because
Iheir buildings have become unproductive
would study out means lo make them
good investments they would not only
beneflt themselves, but in many eases
would help the community at large.

It is in such work as this that the ar¬
chitect and buildei' are of immense value,
as it is a part of their business to dis¬
cover ways of making old property pro¬
ductive by remodeling it to meet new
conditions. A few of ihe builders, who
make a specialty of alterations, are them¬
selves   practical   real   estale   men   and   are





leasing. The broiter was able to demon¬
strate his plan in a forcible fashion and
a lease of the entire properly resulted. A
good working plan was drawn and the
. lessee altered the building at a cost of
about $30,000. most of which amount he
obtained from the owner. Within a rea¬
sonable time after the alterations were
completed, the lessee sub-rented the ground
floor and basement of the building for
more than he paid the bank for 'the en¬
tire structure, which was several stories
high, and his total yearly profit on the
lease was a very substantial one. The
bank later on realized that it had over¬
looked a chance to make its property
valuable, and the president told the build¬
er that the institution could have paid
■$10,000 for his plan of alteration and still
been considerably ahead. Had the owner
laken the trouble to study conditions and
to consult with an architect or builder
before   making   the   lease,   a   plan   could







HOUSTON  &   SUFFOLK  STREET.    BEFORE  ALTERATION.





THE   SAME   BUILDING   AS   IT   NOW   LOOKS.





who employ him. But whether he excels
in one or both flelds of endeavor, he must
devote much of his time to careful study
and must spare no pains to make himself
thoroughly familiar with conditions af¬
fecting the territory in which he works.

The invesling owner is as vitally inter¬
ested as cither the broker or the operator.
Yet in most cases he fails lo make full
use of his opportunities, largely because
he will not devote suflicient study to his
property. Most men when they embark
in a busiuess venture and invest their
capital, watch it with jealous eyes and
spend days and nights in planning meth¬
ods to make it more profitable. The aver¬
age property owner seems content to in¬
vest his money and trust to luck or to
the judgment of others to make his in¬
vestment profitable, and this, too. when
he has to deal mainly with existing con¬
ditions, which a moderate amount of ap¬
plication would enable him to understand.

Real estate is a commodity, the value
of which is based on present or future in¬
come, and as an article of conimerce must
be marketed as are other wares. To de¬
rive income from a building the space
must be rented and in order to market it
to'the best advantage a careful study of
existing conditions is absolutely essen¬
tial. If no market is apparent one must
be created; if the space has become unde¬
sirable through age or inattention it must
be again put in attractive sliape and if by





able to plan their work in such a way as
to  produce actual returns.

The problem of making profitable alter¬
ations is not confined to any one locality
but confronts the owner in all parts of
the city. A dwelling in the Fifth avenue
section may have outlived its usefulness
for residential purposes, but may be made
a valuable source of income by altering it
for business. A building in some down¬
town section may become unsuited to, its
former uses, but with the aid of a builder,
may be made lo produce an adeciuate in¬
come. An apartment house after some
years may become antiquated and iusuffi-
cierttly remunerative, but a capable archi¬
tect may change it 'in such a way as to
bring it up to date and make it a pro¬
ducer. Some very striking examples of
what may be accomplished in this respect
are to be met with in various portions of
the city.

An excellent illustration of profitable
altering, in one of the older parts of town,
is presented by a building at the corner
of Warren and Greenwieh streets, form¬
erly the home of the Irving National
Eank. "When llie bank decided to move
to other quarters, the structure as it was,
being unsuited for other lines of busi¬
ness, remained untenanted for two years.
A broker familiar with the needs of the
section, thought out a plan for alterations
and laid it before an operator who had
considerable    experience    in    speculative





have been obtained for a few hundred
dollars and the institution could have
reaped the benefit instead of the lessee.

The lenement house district of the old
East Side does not naturally appeal to
one as a location for profltable alterations
of this nature, but Houston street fur¬
nishes an excellent example of what
brains and foresight may accomplish.
Next door to the restaurant known as Lit¬
tle Hungary and on the corner of Suffolk
street, was an old business building own¬
ed by an estate which could not sell.
John H. Scheier, a builder and operator
from the Fifth avenue district, saw pos¬
sibilities in this property and obtained a
long lease from the estate. When he
took ■ over the building, _the store was
bringing in a rental of $o40 a year and
the lofts above rented for about $250 a
year. He spent between $6,000 and $7,-
000 in remodeling the structure, putting
in smart looking show windows and mak¬
ing the upper part of the building habit¬
able and sanitary. Real estate men and
owners in the vicinity laughed at him
and said he was wasting the money used
in remodeling. Before the store altera¬
tions were completed it was rented for
.$2,700 a year and the lofts afterwards
brought in from $400 to $600 a year each.
Other owners in the vicinity, seeing his
success, altered their own buildings and
made them more profitable. In this case,
the   alteration   of   one   building   was   the