Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-01-12
REAL ESTATE GOSSIP
Extent of Movement for Erection of
Apartment Houses.
RESULT OF The GROWTH OF THE CITY
People of Limited Means in the
Market as Buyers.
MATTERS OF INTE r Z S T

Ground has been broken for the erection
of an apartment house at the southwest
corner of 18th and T streets northwest,
from plans prepared by +. F. Schneider,
architect. Mr.. Schneider and eX-Gov. Simms,
the latter owning the ground, are largely
! interested in the Albemarle Apartment
House Company, which is undertaking this
enterprise The building will be 100 feet
| square. and will be seven stories in height,
and in its general appearance will resemble
! the Iowa apartment house, near Iowa Circle.
| which was completed last summer from
| plans prepared by the same architect. The
! two fronts will be built of brick of light
| shade and stone, and the total cost IS es:i-
! mated to be about $4,000 The location Of
| the new structure is near where New
Hampshire avenue cuts across the two
streets ard just north of the Concord apart
; ment house which is one of the first struc-
! lures of the sort erected in this city.
The increase in the number of apartment
houses during the past twelve months Is
one Of the notable features of the building
record of the year, especially when the ac-
| tivity in this direction during the previous
calendar year is considered. 1t appears that
the apartment house was rather slow in
getting hold here, but now it has an &C
krcwledged place. This progress appar-
emily seems to some people greater than 1t
really has been. and there are some eXag-
gerated notions as to the extent of this
move mcnt, especially during the past year.
4 Variety in Type.
An examination of the building records
shows that for the twelve months Gliding
the ;lst of December permits for twenty
seven apartment houses We're granted.
These buildings were both large and small,
ana ranged in price from S2o,Wo to $1f0OU,
but the majority We're of rather moderate
size. and were designed to accommodate a
small number Of families.
There is considerable variety, as there
are three-story houses with single en-
trance and no elevator, with a suite OF
rooms on each floor, we'll the big
modern structure which reminds one of a
bee hive. This mode of making a number
of houses out of one, or rather bringing
them under one roof. is suitable for all
classes and for all pocket books, as witness
the two-story buildings with a suite Of
! rooms on each floor and renting from IS to
S12 per month.
Climate to He Considered.
In the three-story building type the apart
ments are rented as low as $40 per month.
| The advantages and disadvantages of this
mode of living have been discussed from the
period, many years ago, when this style Of
building first came into vogue, so that there
| IS nothing new to be said on the sub
| ject. However, as it is only comparatively
! in recent years that 1t was adopted here, 1t
| may be well to utter a word of warning
against the bad policy from a commercial
standpoint, purely, of net taking into ac-
count the climatic conditions in the plan
ming of these structures.
1t will certainly be agreed that a build
| ing that is not available as a residence
! during the warm season is not likely to
prove q very great income Garner in this
! latitude. There is danger that men in try
| ing to get as large a building as possible
may sacrifice other things which may over
balance the advantages in view. There are
some who look upon this tendency on the
part of the public to live in flats as detri-
| mental to those who have houses for rent.
An Increased Demand.
This view, however, 1t is believed is not
justified by the facts. In spite of the rath-
| er remarkable increase in the accommoda-
| lions offered by apartment houses. real es-
| tate dealers who have large rental lists re-
port that the demand for houses during
the past and former seasons has been good,
and that the number Of houses for rent Is
less than has been the case for some time.
! The true explanation of the case with
which the additional living room offered by
apartment houses has been absorbed with
| out disturbance Of normal conditions is
that the population is increasing all the
time, and provision must be made for this
growth 1t is not surprising, therefore, that
the number Of houses offered for rent is
greater than was the case last year, and
that there are more apartments at the dis
posal of the renting public. At the same
time the vacant houses and apartments are
less numerous.
Demand for Small Properties.
what to me- said Mr.. Charles w. Fair
fax Of the firm of Stone & Fairfax real eS-