Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 11, no. 260: March 8, 1873

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AND BUILDERS* GUIDE. Vol. XI. NEW YORK, SATURDAY, MARCH 8, 1873. ho. 260. Publis/ied Weeklu by - TUE REAL ESTATE RECORD ASSOCIATION TERMS. One year, In advance......................$6 00 AU communications should be .addressed to O. AV. SWEET. ■7 AN'O 9 W.MIUEN' STRKKT. No receipt for money due the RK.4.Ï, EsT.vrE RlîCOHI) will be acknovvledijed unlcK .signed bi' one of onr regular collectors. Kkniiy D. S.MiTii or Tiio.M.\s F. Cu.m.mings. AU bills for collection will be sent from the olïioe on a regu- larly printed form. I chine Co. a year ago transported their worl%s \ and their 7,000 employées to Elizabeth. As it j is no merchant can be sure when he promises to delivei' goods at a certain time and place that he can fulfil his contract. The universal cry down town is for "more elbow room." Moreover, the furious driving of the carmen, when they do get a chance to move, is so en- dangering life that merchants begin to iDrefer the lesser profits of other cities,. where the chances of a long lease of life are better. Spécial ISTotice. Me. Chas. P. Williams, who, in connection with the Clough Stone, estalOisherl in 18(16, the agency for Ohio •building stop e, has found tlie business so important as to require his nndivided jier.sonal atti ntion. He will here¬ after condiict the linsiness, which has been carried on since its commencement by W. 15. Wood & Co., in his individual name. Those wanting this beautiful and popular stone, may call at iitKi Front street. A CONFIDENTIAL weekly circular will be issu¬ ed from this office every Saturday, containing a complète list pf ail mortgages recorded on real estate in the City of New York. The price of this circular will be 25 cents each number, or $10 per year to subscribers. Orders for the above should be sent immediately to this office, as no extra copies will be printed. Let îfew York take waming from the his¬ tory of the vénérable city of Antwerp, in Bei¬ gium. Formerly it had two hundred thousand inhabitants ; now it has one hundred thousand. The burgomasters of this ancient mart of com¬ merce hâve finally awakened to the fact that their wharvea are in.sufiicient, and hâve voted an immense sum—sixteen millions of dollars— for their improvement. This is one of the most important facts ever brought to the cog- nizance of the business men and property own¬ ers of New York. It is becoming more and more apparent that this city is suffering from a severe attack of ' ' congestion of the blood. " If the lower part of the town is not soon re- lieved there is danger of an attack of apoplexy. If the channelsof commercial life are not soon enlarged, mortification even may set in. New York not only needs an entirely new System of wharves and rapid transit from the business centres to the suburb.s, but is equally , in need of a complète reconstruction of the ' narrow streets down town. •In addition to the extortions of Custom House ^ quarantine, harbor master, and municipal offi¬ ciais, the merchant now finds himself unable to get his goods through the streets. Manu¬ facturers .are pushing oiit into.;the adjacent «ouaitry: for instanee the Singer Çewing Ma- REPORÏ OF THE STJPERINTENDENT OF BUILDINGS. We are in receipt of the report of the trans- sactions of the Superintendent of Buildings from April 3d, 1872, to December Slst, 1872, a period of nine months. The-report, ia com¬ parison with ihat for the year 1871, shows a diminution in the relative number of transac¬ tions, which in the opinion of the Superinten¬ dent was due partly to the embarrassment of holders, caused by the trade strikes of last summer, and partly to the parsimonious policy of the ComptroUer which compelled a large por¬ tion of the labors oi the Superintendent to be suspended, by curtailing his working force. A large portion of the report is taken up with the remarks of the Superintendent on the necessity of erecting fire-proof buildings and so amend- ing the buildicg laws that in future such d s- asters as hâve overtaken Chicago and Boston will be rendered impossible with us. The tiu- pei'intendent decidedly objects to the forced réduction by the ComptroUer of his estimâtes fer expenses of the department from $125,000 to $50,000, aud justly claiins that this sum is much too small for the working of the depart¬ ment. Six hundred and ninety-one sets of plans and spécifications for new buildi gs were submitted and passed upon from AprU 5th, 1872, to De¬ cember Slst, 1872. The number of buildings embraced in said ]lans and spécifications was 1,281, classified as ioUowo : First-class dwellings..................................377 Second-class " ................................. (10 Third-class " (tenements).......................582 Eirst-class stores..................................... 47 Second-class ".................................... 21 Third-class " .........'............................ 14 Factories and workshops.............................. S4 SchO' )1 house-!........................................' 5 Stables............................................... 67 Churches........................................... 10 Piiblic buildings.......-.............................. 8 . 1,281 The estimated cost of thèse buifdings amount¬ ed to Ihe sum of $21,944,330. The sum pro¬ posed to be expended in the altération of buUd¬ ings fo'" the same pe iod amounts to $2,788,S7P, showing a total of $24,732,709 proposed tobe expended in new buildings and altérations. There were. oompl ted from April Sth, 1872, to December Slst, 1873, one^hougand sixhnçf dred and sixty-twonew buUdings. The follow¬ ing is a summary of the transactions of the department, from the date of its reorganization, AprU Sth, 1870, to December 31st, 1872, a period oi" two years and nine nlonths : NEW Btjn,DINGS. Commenced from April 5th, 1870, to April Sth, 1871. .2,161 1871 " " 1872..2,y33 " " " 1872, to Dec. Sls!, 1872.. 1,360 Total...................................5,854 Completed from AprU 5th, 1870, to AprU 5th, 1871..1,899 1871 " " 1872..2,036 " " " 1872, to Dec. 31at, 1872.. 1,602 Total..................................5,597 ALTERATIONS OF BUILDINGS. Commenced frora AprU Sth, 1870, to April Sth, 1871. .1,188 1871 " " 1872.. 1,209 " " " 1872, to Dec. Slst, 1872.. 894 Totnl...................................3,205 Completed from April ôth, 1870, to April Sth, 1871.. 1,188 1871 '■ " 1872.. 1,209 " " " 1872. to Dec. 31st, 1872.. 1,U15 Total......................... .......3.412 A WOED TO INVESTORS. Persons wishing to invest their money wisely, would do weU to carefully consider the proba- bilities of the rise of real estate in the city of New York during the coming 10 years. It is now clearly appa^ ent that no combination of capitalists can longer prevent the introduction of a rapid ?ystem of transit from one end of the island to the other. If the great railroad corporations wUl not build them, it is very évi¬ dent the municipality wUl take up the matter. "With the Morningside and the Riverside Parks determined npon, with the new Boulevards opened, and with the assessments paid or biing paid, it is évident that a real estate spéculation will set in, if the financial horizon remains cLar. And it is évident Irom récent sales that caiùtalists are beginning to take an interest in up town property. Taken altogether there has been very little advance in unimproved property for fuur ^ ears past—and ti.is, too, at a time when there hâve been heavy assessment taxes paid—so that land is really lo\rer than it was before those jmprovements commenced. There can be no question that in future the mcst valuaVe ground on this earth wUl be found on Manhattan Island. The neighborhood. cf the City HaU wUl be one such centre of extraor-' dinary high values ; the surroundings of Madi¬ son ave. wiU be another ; the land on Broad¬ way Connecting with the west side Boulevards- will be a third. But the whole of the west side property fronting upon the parks aiid upon the river, will be, for residential property, as we hâve said. the m st valuable up n earth, In this railroad âge i!; will not lake long to br ng thèse high values about. Once given a west side railway and the thing is au fait ac- eojripli. Every circums'tance goe? to i-how that this little. island wiU cqncentçate more weal^U'