Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: [v. 91, no. 2344]: February 15, 1913

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REAL ESTATE AND NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 15, 1913 piiiii^^ s I BACHELOR APARTMENTS FOR WOMEN Would it Pay to Build Them ?—What Experts Say—What is Required—^A Kitchenette, Bathroom and Built-in Furniture. ililllli IIIIIIMIIIIMIIillllllllillllllllllillillllil .....IIIHIIHI......Illllllllllllllllllllllllllinl AN appeal has been made to the Record and Guide in behalf of a i-i-iovement for more convenient and at¬ tractive living accommodations for bach¬ elor -women in New York City. Refer¬ ence is made to that large class of young ladies who are in receipt of good salaries but who do not wish to lease, furnish and maintain an apartment of the ordinary type. They do not wish to accumulate furniture or to burden them¬ selves with much housekeeping, but they feel a genuine need for small but artis¬ tic homes amid congenial surroundings —homes which can be rented almost entirely furnished for a sum within their means and yet sufficient to warrant the investment on the part of builders. That teachers, nurses and business wo¬ men in large numbers would welcome an opportunity to exchange present cheer¬ less and inhospitable furnished rooms and boarding houses for more attractive homes, may be conceded, and the real question turns upon the type of apart¬ ment most suitable and whether it would pay as a business proposition. The suggestion has been made that such an apartment should consist of one large room and a bathroom. There would then be in the living-room a sink, a gas or oil stove for cooking purposes and certain built-in furniture, together with all necessary cooking utensils; and bed-linen, towels and tea towels coming in weekly. This house should be situ¬ ated in a refined neighborhood and have an artistic quality that would attract congenial tenants. Conceivably the build¬ ing might also contain suites of two rooms and bath for married coup'es, without detracting from the qualities which would please well-to-do single wo¬ men. How She Would Like to Have It. A young lady, when asked to describe the sort of apartment she would like best, said it would have a room about twenty-five or thirty feet long, and about fifteen feet wide, with windows on two sides. At one end there would be two doors, one opening into a large clothes closet and the other into a bathroom. In the living-room the bed would be built into the outer wall, with a strong iron frame folding up into the paneled siding. When closed, it would look like a book¬ case or cupboard. She had seen this successfully done in other cities, but if it would not go in New York, then a couch would suffice. All around the room there would be paneled wainscoting, topped with a shelf for books, photographs, bowls of flow¬ ers and what not. The wainscoting would contain a continuous set of shelves for books and other things. Near a window she would build a dainty desk, which could be managed by having the paneling drop forward on chains. The bathrooi-n would be commodious, with a dressing table built in at one end, a pier glass above it and drawers beneath, and there would be numerous other drawers for collars, gloves, veils and other articles of apparel. The suite would then be complete with the exception of a table, chairs and rugs. As a Business Proposition. The Record and Guide has made some inquiries as to whether a house so planned would be an acceptable business proposition in the real estate field. The best opinion obtainable inclines to the negative, so far as the scheme relates to building a special type of apartments in Manhattan. In other boroughs, as in Brooklyn, with cheaper land values to contend with, and with possibly a more liberal allowance for rent than most wo¬ men can afford, it seems to have been proven by some experience in that direc¬ tion that the erection of bachelor apart¬ ments for single women having incomes of twelve hundred to two thousand dol¬ lars a year would be a fairly profitable business undertaking. Hardly Possible in Manhattan. The case was stated this week to an architect, builder and owner who would be most likely to understand its feasi¬ bility as a building proposition in Man¬ hattan. This gentleman only a year ago completed the artistic duplex apartment house at No. 1 Lexington avenue, on the former site of the mansion of the lace Henry W. Poor, fronting on Gramercy Park, which is in a neighborhood well known as an art center. This gentleman, Mr. Charles Buck, is a member of the Board of Examiners in the Building Department, which is a sort of court of last resort for architects and builders. Mr. Buek's opinion was that bachelor apartments for single women dependent upon their earnings alone would not be profitable in what would be considered a good location in Manhattan. "Kitchenettes would at once bring such a house within the purview of the Tene¬ ment House law," he said, "with its limi¬ tations and restrictions, and it is well known that apartment houses of the bet. ter class cannot be built profitably even now except on large plots one hundred feet square or more; and in such build¬ ings, with elevator service, fifteen dollars per month per room is about the lowest profitable rate. And this presupposes a liathroom to every three or four or more rooms, instead of one to each living- room as in the proposed building. "I do not believe that a bachelor apart¬ ment house for women as a new struc¬ ture under existing laws could be made a financial success in any central location on Manhattan Island, such as women so situated would naturally desire. The many bathrooms, each required to have an outside window, would use up all the rentable space. The same difticulty is encountered in the model tenements, but it would be much more severely felt in the proposed building." Possibilities in Alterations. Mr. Buek, however, added that there are many old houses, built before these laws were passed, in the older sections of the city now unprofitable, which could be readily adapted to these purposes were it not for the fact that the require¬ ments of the Tenement House law make any changes ii-npossible without entire rebuilding. If such buildings could be replanned and modernized under the law applicable to hotels, with fireproof halls and stairs, they could undoubtedly be made to furnish cheerful, healthful and acceptable homes of the kind mentioned, which are otherwise impossible except by going to the outskirts of the city. Against Built-in Furniture. Walter B. Chambers, architect, 109 Broad street, was found to be of the opinion that a properly planned and managed building for the accommoda¬ tion of bachelor women could be made a paying investment, and that there are neighborhoods in the Borough of Man¬ hattan, as well as in Brooklyn and The BrQn.x, where such buildings could be located to advantage. "They must be fireproof, but I would not advise built-in beds or other built- in furniture," explained Mr. Chambers. "Given the right size and location of site, the planning of the building is sim¬ ple. The plan must be an elastic one, capable of providing apartments of dif¬ ferent sizes, within certain limitations. The 'large living-room, bedroom, small kitchen, bathroom' type should be made to predominate, and the building as a whole, inside and out, should be given an air of distinction, through refinement of taste in decoration and absence of showiness, which would appeal at once to self-supporting women of refinement. As to the cost, good taste costs less than bad taste." Possibly in Brooklyn. The question of the feasibility of erect¬ ing houses for bachelor women in Brook¬ lyn was put to Mr. David Porter, real estate broker and expert appraiser, of 189 Montague street, and it was found that in Brooklyn the speculative builder would find a different set of circum- ■itances than in Manhattan. Mr. Porter considered the scheme feasible. In fact, something of the kind was already in be¬ ing. He did not think, however, it would be a good proposition from a business standpoint to furnish such houses. Mr. Porter further said: "Apartments of this kind should con-