The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-11-04

APARTMENT HOUSE BUILDING
ON WARRINGTON HEIGHTS.

Tne greatest variety Of N4w Housing ls
Now TO be Found ON the Upper west
Side, win Broadway as the Main Cen
: ire for High Grade Elevator Flats.
Before the subway was opened it was
generally thought that the hrst important
seat OF building activity along the new road
would be on Washington Heights. The
natural attractions Of the plateau on the
upper West Side were un~questionably SUI
penor to those Of any other uhdeveloped
neighborhood reached by the subway.
However. a on Washington Heights
was comparatively expensive. and land
values proved to be q more important
factor in Determining where building was
to begin than had been expected. Not
until Harlem and The Bronx had had their
construction boom did building begin in
earnest on Washington Heights.
During the present year probably The
bulk Of the fats and apartments erected
uptown are on Washington Heights, along
the ridge from is5th to 1sist street. IL is
there that the greatest variety Of new
housings Of this description are to be found.
The predominant type Of construction is the
six story Dat without elevator service. A
majority Of the apartments In such houses
contain four. FIVE or six rooms. renting at
about % TO 81 so q room a month.
The tendency Of building on the Heights
Ia, however, toward q more expensive order
Of construction. A considerable number of
the new houses there are six story elevator
fats and IL II believed that in the near future
Oats without elevator service will cease to
predominate l n nsw construction work on
the upper West Side.
lust now Broadway IL the chief centre
for the kind OF building Improvement that
is expected to prevail eventually throughout
the entire plateau. That section OF Broad
way between laKh and nth streets 10
already % far built up as to suggest some
idea Of what the best residence housing
on the heights VIII be like.
This avenue Is &C present being reduced
to q state Of order after the upheaval caused
by tho construction OF the rapid transit
line. The centre Of the roadway il being
parked with grass and shrubs, and the
sides are being paved with asphalt blocks.
Whole block fronts Of elevator apartment
houses are nearing. completion. The west
side Of Broadway between is5th and lslth
streets presents an unbroken wall Of these
new apartments. North Of this point. on
both sides Of the avenue, many others are
in course Of construction.
A featurs Of the Broadway buildin z
movement Is the large scale on which the
undertakings have been carried out. With
few exceptions only two buildings are put
up on the entire block front. In a maj GRITTY
Of cases each apartment house occu pies q
plot 1O0xl0O or 200xlOo. This Is practically
the only thoroughfare on Washington
Heights of which this is true.
This portion of Broadway Ia apparently
destined to become one of the finest apart
ment house sections In the city. The rear
windows of the houses on the west side OF
the avenue command a view Of the Hudson
and the Palisades. Another asset is the
great width Of Broadway at this point, $50
feet, providing an attractive front view tor
apartments on o sides Of the street.
These advantages are reflected in the scale
Of rents. Apartments here now bring from
t12 to S14 a room per month.
The presence Of the subway on Broad
way, with stations only a few blocks apart,
at 18th, l45th, I57th and l8Sth streets,
making all parts Of the avenu easily ac-
cessible, has tended to eQualize rents and
land values between 135th and 10th streets.
Half blocks between l37th and hath streets
are held at SOL, 900. The value OF plots at
i45th street is difficult Of appraisal, this
street being the most important crosstown
highway on the Heights. Above l5sth
street as far north az 10th street corner
plots lOoxlOO would bring probably about
ts5, 900 each.
between i5sd and I5Sth streets the blocks
on both sides of Broadway form a part OF
Trinity Cemetery, which lies between
Amsterdam g and the Riverside
Drive extension.
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