The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-08-25
FLAT HUNTING In The BRONX
EVERY TASTE AND EVERY PURSE
SUITED BEYOND THE HARLEM.


The apartment house situation in Tho
Bronx In just nov distinctly favorable
TO tn tenant. The great ~overproduction
OF mtdde class fats which took place In
1905 and 1908 " still far from absorbed,
ever, along the rapid transit lines. In
newly established n~eighborhoods. where
entire blocks Of the conventional five and
six story fats were put up during the boom
period. special Inducements are offered
to prospective tenants. Owners are gen.
orally discounting n months rent on a
yearly lease. and in some instances are
allowing six weeks or two months rent of.
South of Westchester avenue and east
of Third avenue. around st. Mary's Park.
are a few vacancies. but AS a rule the houses
there are pretty well filled up. The neigh
borhood il rather an old one and is thickly
settled. Two and three story brick dwell
lings built a decade ago line many of the
side streets and the new apartment houses
are scattered among them. Very little
building has been going on there during
the last two years and the section has just
about the normal proportion Of vacancies.
A short distance north Of st. Mary's
Park, in the triangle lying between Southern
Boulevard. Prospect and Longwood ave.
nues. or what is known as the Longwood
avenue section, a great deal OF building
has been going on since the opening OF
the West Farms branch OF the subway.
This district consists almost entirely of
new fats and apartment houses, erected
In the last three or four years. The apart
ments are Of a higher grade than those
in other parts of The Bronx and. command
a higher rental.
The first elevator apartment house to
be erected In The Bronx-and up to the
present time the only completed house
of that class in the b~orough-the Man.
hanset. is located at the intersection of
Prospect, Longwood and Westchester
avenues, in the Longwood avenue section.
II faces the Westminster avenue extension
Of the subway, which at this, point runs
along an elevated structure. Practically
all the apartments are rented.
The success attained by the Manhanset
has led to the erection this year of several
other elevator apartments in its vicinity.
The st. Regis. under construction at Pros
pect avenue and 183d street. is similar 10
the modern elevator fats found on the upper
West Side. The suites vary from Ave to
ten rooms. They are well laid out, with
hardwood floors and interior panelling,
and ave all the conveniences of more
expensive apartments downtown. Rents
vary from $35 TO 800 a month.
Another elevator apartment shouse now
being erected il on Boston road near
i85th street. Although the building will
not be ready until this fall a majority OF
the apartments ave already beer leased.
The scarcity of the better grade Of apart
ments north of the Harlem River has re-
suited in a strong demand for them.
However. il has been admitted for some
time that The Bronx is overbuilt with fats
and tenements Of the usual type, with from
four to six antilles on a floor. Following
the opening of the subway, providing
rapid transit to hitherto inaccessible parts
of The Bronx, the great enement house
boom Of 1904 and 1905 set in. TO be followed
during he second half of 1905 and the first
half of 1907 by a period of reduced activity.
Last fall entire blocks of fats. with room
for thousands of tenants. stood vacant.
The anticipated influx from Manhattan,
although phenomenally large, was made
quate to fiji the big double deckers thrown
the market, Fol a time il was feared
that extensive liquidation woul set in, that
builders, unable To fulfil their obligations
because of inability to find tenants, would
be forced into bankruptcy. A few weak
have indeed gone to the wall, but
serious trouble has been STAYED of by the
big lending institutions, which have allowed
building oanst to stand IA permanent mort
cages and have permitted overdue liens
to run along without enforcing payment.
Then. too. the loan companies have re-
fused TO finance further building operations
in tenements. and construction work has
10 a comparatively small volume. |
A variety Of other causes have also worked
for the betterment Of the situation. The
growth of the city. the emoval of old dwell
ings and APARTMENTS to make way for
business buildings and the tearing
down Of entire blocks in thickly settled tene-
ment districts for new bridge approaches
are all combining 10 decentralize population
in Manhattan. The Bronx. for the reason
its rapid transit facilities are actually
hand, receives "A large part Of this out
migration.
Nevertheless the percentage Of unoccn-
pied apartments is still very large in every
Of the borough, which was built
extensively during the recent boom.
Examples are too numerous to require
However. a notable case in
point ia to be found on Fox street, on the
OF the Longwood avenue section,
where transit facilities are exceptionally
good. Three big flats in a row, with room
for sixty or seventy families. have been in
the market for nearly two years. At the
present time they are about
On the Boston road, along which
TlHH pnc VI INV Idl uIltH O ne Bronx |
trolley system, are a number OF five and six
story fats erected in 1904 and 1905. In one
house, selected at random, there were a
week ago eight vacant apartments out Of a
total Of ~thirty-five.
These are typical conditions in the best
sections Of the borough. where
transportation In furnished by the subway.
the Third avenue elevated and numerous
lines. In the more inaccessible
portions, lying west Of Third avenue and
north and east Of Crotona Park. owners
find even greater difficulty in securing
tenants.
Fortunately the wave Of building has
been checked, or at least restrained TO mod.
crate proportions. and another year or 80
serve 10 fill up the vacancies sufficiently
10 at least enable the new apartment houses
10 carry themselves. In the meantime
n certain amount Of fiat and tenement con-
will necessarily be carried on.
Builders who have obtained land for inn
have no recourse but to build.
enforced construction forms the bulk
Of present fiat and tenement building under
way in The Bronx.
Since the collapse Of the fiat and tene-
ment house boom operators have turned
their attention toward the construction of
and double flats and two family
dwellings A lumber of apartment houses
only ono nv two IN rpiIiao on IN A..