Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 64, no. 1639: August 12, 1899

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S40 'm RECORD ÂKD GUIDE, August 12, 1899. THE APARTMENT HOTEL. !" It is îllustrative of the pace at which we move in architecture "ïhat so common a type of residential housing as the flat was introduced into New York City only thirty years ago, The con¬ struction of the 'Stuyvesant was begun in 1S69 from designs by Richard M. Hunt, and In the following year the Haight House, better known as the Hanover, was converted from a private dwelling into an apartment. Thèse and other early examples of the new type proved for a time to be extremely profitable in- ■vestments, a fact which was not lost upon the gênerai body of spéculative builders. In 1ST6 a writer made the assertion that, Iq the case of the Haight House, "as much as 30 per cent, profit ■was made during the first three or four years. The Albany, the Saratoga, the Knickerbocker. as well as twenty or thirty minor establishments of the same kind, are all abundantly patronized, and the lucky investors are making a higher rate of interest ïipon their property than is obtainable in any other branch of the fcuild:ng industry," Less than ten years later, owing to over- production, flats realized, we learn, "much less proflt than other real estate ventures." The ef£ect of compétition on flats has been esssntially the same B.S the resuit produced in the case of officesr-increasingly lux- urious appointments and greater elaborateness of service, while story after story has been added by means of the elevator, in order to compensate for the larger cost of maintenancs. The culminating product of this tendency towards elaborateness, or, rather, concentration, of service is the apartment hotel. The typical apartment hotel. like the flat, admits on'.y more or less permanent tenant", and. in addition, coi:ducts a restaurant for tlieir exclusive use, The spécial attractiveness of tbis arrange- Oaent consists of the fact th3.t it solves the servant question, in- fcludir.3 other problems that confrcnt lhe householder; reduces living e;:penses: ar.d that it frees the mistress of the family from the necessity of supervising a thousand and one petty détails Incident to the management of an independent estab'ishment. The charge for menial services and board, though, of course, ïncluded in the ren', is materially smaller than if the tenant were to deai independently with servants, butcher, grocer, and coal dealer; and is, moreover, a f.xed, instead cf a variable quantity. But, although the idea of the apartment hotel proved popular with tenants, it was not v;ry promptly exploited by spéculative builders. It requires la'-ger capital and a higher order of ability to construct. equip. and or^anize a house of this description than a common flat. The builder has to be not merely a builder. but something of a holel man as well; otherwise, he will havï to dé¬ pend upon a hired ma',i,ic;er to organize and carry on the hotel feature cf his house. The prosperity of the common flat is de¬ termined chiefly by location and architectural plan, both of which éléments can be weljhed pretty accuratsly in advance. But thi prosperity of an apartment hotel is determined piincipally by purely personal qualif.es in the superintendent. As a conse- th st, Woodside, 1-sty frame store, 25x60, cost $1,500, is being built for Lawrence E. Wise, Gilbert Monars is to build a 2-sty frame dwelling, 20x32, cost $1,S00, on the south side of Shoe and Leather st, 25 feet west of Park place, Wood.haven. HOUSinO OF THE LONDON LABORING CLASSES. A mass-m.eoting of lodgers (persons renting parts of dwellings frora tenants) and householders from all parts of the metropolis, for the purpose of protesting against the '"ruinous rînts for rooms and tenements in toiJing London," was held on Tuesday at the People's Palace, Mr. J. Haysman presiding. Letters n'erë read from a number of London members of Parliament, and from members of the County Council, expressing sympathy with the objects of the meeting. The Chairman said the question, which was non-poiitical, was of the titmost importance to the présent and future générations, Too much of the toilers' income was consumed in rent. The only way to alter that was by modern- îzing the Iand laws, increasing accommodation in districts where it was required, affording spécial facilities for workers to travel to and from the suburbs, and by compelling the removal to the suburbs of factories and large workshops that were not forced by the nature of their trade to remain within lhe area of the me¬ tropolis. On the sites of old buildings should ba erected build¬ ings on the flat principle, and to do that it was necessary that the London County Council should hâve complète, simple and compulsory purchasing powers. The Council's présent powers were much too restricted,' and should be greatly simplified, After a discussion a resolution was adopted condemning the high rents charged for rooms and tenements in tlie W'Orking districts of London, and urging the London County Council and the Local Government Board not only to fully exercise the powers they now possess. but aiso to seek further powers and means of providing commodious and healthy dwellings for the toilers of London.— London Times, July 27, ISOO. WAR TAX RULIffG. The Commissioner of Internai Revenue at Washington made the following ruling under date given below; "This office is in receipt of letter of ISth inst. from ------------, in which this gentleman states that that part of Schedule A of the War Revenue Law of 1S98, relating to conveyances of land