The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1901-11-17
APARTMENT HOTELS.

etruction OF buildings tend for the moment
70 shSourase the erection Of apartment no.
tells at the expense OF housekeeping apart
ments. The Building Code defines the term
hotel to moan . building with more han
fifteen sleeping rooms above the first story.
designed TO supply food and shelter 10 guests
inc having . general public dining room orr
cafe, or both. The essential element In the dsn-
milton Of q tenement. slaid down In the Tene-
msnt House law. IL that the term IL taken 70
mean q residence occupied by three families
or more, living Independently OF each other
and doing their cooking upo the premises
Tho term tenement. therefore. comprises
houseteepinR apartments Of whatever grace
Incl. ling the most expensive and fashioh-
able elevator fats,
An Apartment hotel. though containing
q restaurant. which In practice IL frequently
rcAsfved for the use OF tenants and theu
gusstS, and though composed OF small suites
without Kitchens. 10 nevertheless an apart
ment house, In the sense that II receives no
transient quests. but 10 occupied by tenants
under 3 formal lease. The definitions adopted
By law, however. permit apar tment hotels
70 be constructed under the Building Code
while housekeeping apartments fall unoer
the provisions Of tho Tenement House law.
The present Tenement House law allows
much less latitude In matters relating 70
construction than the one which it superseoeo
or than the Building Code. No building
ooustruotsd under it, provisions may cover
more han 10 per cent. Of an Lnsids plot or
rise 70 . height exceeding By more thsn .
third the width Of the street. On . oo-foos
street, therefore. the highest elevation attain
able for . Housekeeping nat y eighty fees
from The ground level. or seven stories. An
apartment hotel. on the other hand. may
Dover % per cent OF an inside plot. II not
mors than i've stories high. and may rise
10 any greater height, without reference TO
TIE width Of the street. by further deducuns
az per cent. from the site for every story
above the ffth. A seven-story apartment
hotel may cover IS per cent. OF an INSIDE
plot, Z nine -story structure 90 per cent. ana
4 twelvs-story building 72h per cent Hence.
q builder may utilize q fractonally larger
peroentA 70 Of his site by erecting a twelve
story apartment hotel than II he were 10 ereos
q ssven-story housekeeping fiat. In either
case he would have TO build freproof. so that
by probe cting an apartment hotel he obtains
nearly onoo again ss much rentable moor
space.
The speculative advantage In regard to
rentable space derived by building apart
ment hotels instead OF housekeeping apart
ments 10. however. Of recent origin. dating
from the adoption Of tho present Tenement
EOurS INV . ibth e'e
stituts the fundamental cause OF the current
construotional movement In the hotel type
Of fatA. Apartment hotels were freely under
taken before the new Tenement House law
went into effect. although under the law
which II superseded the advantages OF cheap
nees Of construction lay with housekeeping
fats, which could then be built non-hreproof
I'D TO a height OF seven stories. Indeed.
apartment hotels have been the subject OF n
a. a. A. 80 49, -AAN ANnF taQEg
despite the further fact that bachelor apart
ments. which are practically apartment
hotels without q dining room. were erected
In lars re numbers seven stories high and nom
nreproof until last summer. Since the new
Tenement House law went into effect the
erection of the common type or non-nreprooi
bachelor apartments has ceased. because
Of a ruling by the Department OF Buildings
that though their existence II reco snised
neither In the oode nor in the tenement
House law. the department elects 10 class
them under the stricter provisions OF the
latter. The stoppage OF the building OF
the common type OF bachelor apartments.
of course, materially increases the proportion
of the population available as tenants for
apar snt hotels. But despite the various
economic advantages enjoyed by builders
Of apartment hotels under current laws. the
fact remains that this class OF housing has
been constructed on a notable scale Tor several
years.
Tho Introduction OF the apartment hotel
dates back at least MT zen years Alva Walk
er, the builder OF the Winthrop and the Beres-
ford, said once in conversation with tho
writer that the Winthrop was the nr-t apart
meut hot~l erected In the city Completed
I'm March, 1850, IL was filed by the following
NAV, and was subsequently, sold under a
contract guaranteeing n return OF q per cent
net for four years The terms OF this con-
trnct are suggestive OF the doubts enter
ttined at the time by investors ms 20 the fu-
tlrc Of the new type OF housing The pro-
ductlon Of apartment hot Is continued TO be
on an extremely limited scale down 20 about
four years ago. although all the houses Of
tho kind erected IN central locations met
with unqualified renting success Indeed.
~ il commonly believed that the Martinique,
opened 30 late as 1895. has already more tia
paid for itself
Apartment hotels are no exception 10 the
rule that every permanent type Of improved
housing introduced Ia New York has yielded
extraordinarily rch PROFITS to the builders
and Investors VINO have early Recognized
their possibilities Tho fat proper VAS In
troduoed some uirty years ago. although
tau.meut houses date from 1873. when James
n AlaiTe, tie engine builder erected n
fout-story house for four families la Water
strret, on a site nos included ~ totl"aIs
uo,k Park the met Hat. however. MAS
a.. -tuyyrsaHt. begun "a isog. from plans
by fl,lafd n Hunt, aud In a." folloStns
yrar tAr naisht Nous. better knONn a. tbs
Hanover was converted from a private
hsl-r INTO an sparturrt building IT, isie
vrltlT mad t4s assertion tnat. IA a." ease
If tie nAlsIt iiouss, a. murh a. 81 psT
sut pro.t 49, made darn. tho hTst three
of fouf wears Ito Albany tns safatusa.
lie hb.t s.tbovksI 49, wcll 10 tNrnt OF
TINT, minof establishment II tAo sauuo
sDd b. added. ats ~abuAdauug patron
I.,d All to- tutrstpfs a." ua4lus o. Llsh' .
pt. Of .trft upua ui'ir pfupHrB tuah Il
obtliuauls iu aub otArf branch oi ths build'
ms tnddstJ
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