New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-08-23
THE TAIL OFFICE BUILDINGS
HOW MANY SKYScRAPERS HAVE spRI-vo
UP--THE DEMAND FOR OFFICES
IN THEM

Tall Office buildings still going up In nurnb.r.
from Bowling Green 10 the ST. James Hotel an.
| in Wall-st in Nassau-st.. and elsewhere Plans for
still more have been flied. Within the las, wear
several skyscrapers have been completed and Tor,
ants began moving into them on May last Tn.
Introduction Of the express elevator has snnib,Ia,ea
! altitude for office purposes. a business man NAV
now be shot up to twentieth floor while one would
walk up a short flight OF stairs.
So many Of these buildings have been erected
being put up. or ar already planned. that one
naturally asks II the industry Is rot being oyer.
worked In other words are these tail buIld,nr.
being filed with tenants? In another form 81 aues-
tion. they paying Investments The answer
seems TO be that a rule they are paying invest
ments There exceptions here and there. owing
to strictly local conditions. but on the whole these
| buildings are being well filled
In securing tenants for such buildings u must b
borne in mind that the tenants must first give Up
their old Offices many OF which especially in the
case Of banks, corporations or large firms.
lea sed for a of years Then II the tenant Ia
10 move into tho new bull ling when opened. he
must make his arrangements purely on The basis
of plans shown him. II he cannot or Will not DO
this. he must wait year for leases run for twelve
months at least.
The agent for 4 new building generally wishes 10
begin two years in advance to secure tenants. To
do II within q year requires terrific amount Of
huslng and adjustment. Because tall building
which
thirds or three fourths full now Is no indication
that the investment will not prove n profitable ols.
Another May may find nearly or quite every room
taken Agents for new buildings too. have given
reduced rentals for the first year as an inducemeat
They proceed the theory that Il coming years
will eqrlalize the income and especially. II all goes
well that the tenant who has reduction for The
first year will pay fill value the second or else 10
compelled TO 90 elsewhere because somebody elss
will pay the rent required An Interesting chapter
could be written the tricks Of the trade which
agents resort for tho purpose OF securing ten
ants for a tall new office building the first year.
II is the second or third year which n reality
tests the value of such a building a. an Investment
Judged BY this standard the crop OF buildings
which has sprung UP within the last f." years IN
this city Is "A profitable one. There Is only one area
where there seems any serious doubt upon The sub
feet and that is in Fifth-ave.. between Fourteenth
and rwenty-third SITS The first floors of several Of
the office and store buildings there are unocchpIed
In one beautiful building" as it IS called H. real
estate circles two floors lo1X2o feet are ynoccnId
And yet these buildings are slowly being MIRO
taken offices 1t is more difficult 10 fill those bal
ness district THIS section of Fifth-ave. has not
been long on ongh transformed from dwelling 20
much Of a success as in an Old business nelghbor-
hood. 1t is only few years ahead OF III. MY
ever as .eal estate men argue, In the ol'c-ou'''-
Hadison sqnarc seems to take to the tall ofics
buildng The largest yet erected ther" mas peen
DTactirallv filled The dfteen-siory Office and store
building being erected at Broad"aS, anu ,oys
structure to be put ny on the 81 james hoteI ST..
satisfied that the Increased and increasing demand
| for such buildings will continue 10 MAKE tnem
profitable They will supply n need ior mar ihlnme-
HAT neighborhood The large numt cr OF old Oihe
buildings along Broadway between MADISON Stsage
and Thirty -fourth-st. will be the sufferers
of these new buildings with express elevators and
the latest modern Improvements .o.., ara
south OF Chambers-st and not far from u, are al
most wholly filed With tenants ines Ds'..,"7
have been iudiciousy located. The Offices OF one Il
tho most successful of them. where onf thI'' y.
four rooms In the whole towering structure als ny
occupied are taken largely by firms or corpora'lo,
from ST Louis or Chicago from Ne" r''s 80
cities and syen from GR'g Sranehes They are
near the trade they wish to reach, between S.anai
and Liberty SITS and Broadway and the Nor'h
The maze of tall buildings which have re- e.
Gently sprung up IKE dragon s,e'' Man
sau-st and elsewhere In the lower par' oi
Manhattan Island is declared by 99~hh JnS I'M
urc of York real estate II IS mar Nd6 r hGT
the latest Of these newcomers Is being ned EiFm.
m, vot completed have already boon rented one
skvscraper opened May last In Exchange f'''e'
Is nearly filed with tenants. o,,,,o franz From
Where do all these enants come TT IRON a., so 20
old-time office hudingt The sign To Ley o, hess
be in great many 81 ths orideS ,b Oh III
relics Of the good old days should tn.se ora
buildings bo torn down many or them nave
been and skyscrapers be erected on theit SITES o'
tall Office building would undountcaN oe nVt his mar
ticuIar line cav that up the pres'n there seems
nc t,o ,,inen, danger OF a uut Of such building
i1 Na,bods Of doing business are changing ms
,cinphone has made II possible for manuia,tus,,
to conduct his business win custon',s ~, r,,r he
come set Of Offices In tall building ana 70 ~" -
factory by telephone and an occasional WISH A ~
this is true I'm various branches OF ruslteS sooma
This line the demand for office buildlnss see ns
bound to Increase indefinitely, and possibly '"O''
mOusly.