The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-09-01
STEADY WAS BUILDING Montgomery's Record Was Gratifying. BUILDINGS ABOUT $75O,OOO Suburbs Showed an Unusual Activity Last Fiscal Year. While Total Figures Were Not Equal to Year Previous, They Indicate
 More Diversified Ex-
 penditures.

Expansion is the essential element which characterized building progress m Montgomery during the past fiscal year. There was projected within that period the erection of such structures as the First National Bank, the Bell or the Gay-Teague buildings. through which congestion in the downtown dis tricts have been alleviated. More sig. n1ncant in some respects was the class of building accomplished. It was the erection of comfortable homes in the various beautiful suburbs of the city. marking not So much an increase in business activity as an increase in pop ulation.
 Building and repair permits issued during the fiscal year in the office of City Engineer A R. GiIchrist. aggre- gated $400,000, to which amount must be added the cost of the Bell building, $350, 900, bringing the total up to $780, 900.
 Even then the figures do not appar- ently compare very favorably with the corresponding figures for last year. $I,- 295,682. But in a consideration of the building progress of the city there are certain factors to be noted which will materially alter the view of the situa- tion which first thrusts itself upon the mind.
 In the first place the figures for the preceding year are only nominal. While permit for the construction of the Gay -Teague Hotel was issued during the latter part of the preceding fiscal year, as a matter of fact. the actual construction of the building has been largely done during the year just past, and its cost $2S0.000 should be incor- porated in the figures indicative of building progress in Montgomery dur ing the last fiscal ytar.
 a. xA buildings completed during the eleven months past and the corresponding pe- riod preceding are about on a par. Re- membering that the preceding eleven months marked an unparalleled build ing epoch in the city's history, 1t is seen that the activity of the period just ended is very remarkable.
 Impetus to Suburbs.
 Again. the unusual impetus given to the building up of the suburbs of the city Is noteworthy. Keeping pace with the rapid improvement of the streets in the remote sections of Montgomery, handsome residences have arisen, jus- tifying amply the city's vast expendi- lures for such purposes. and exempIi- flying the growth in population. to &C., centuate which the city, especially through the medium of the Commercial Club. has been strenuously exerting it. self.
 The number of permits issued during the eleven months past exceeded 275, the aggregate cost being $400. 900. Of this amount not more than $50, ,000 was applied for repair work proper. the re- mainder representing the cost of new buildings or extensive remodeling that can be grouped under that head.
 In the absence of expensive struct- ures the period was noteworthy. Res- idences ranging in cost from $1, 1000 to e2 fxrn nP httt home" constituted the bulk of build ing operations. Many were the small cottages erected and of unusual extent was the process of remodelling in which property owners indulRed. With veneer of brick, addition of rooms and erection of large columns. many old dwellings were modernized and their appearance vastly improved.
 Among projected buildings. that of The Advertiser is the most costly. The new structure, the excavation for which Is nearly completed. will cost $15.0o0. In it will be housed the now Goss Stralght-Line Press, the linotype and stereotype machines. and the edit orial department of the paper The fa- cilities of The Advertiser will after the completion of the building compare fa- vorably with those of any paper in the South. It is expected that the struct- ure will be ready for occupancy about October 15.
 Evidencing the increase in population of Montgomery and the consequent de- mand for accommodations. the ClanceY flat was constructee at hte corner of Scott and Court Streets several months ago. The building is built of stone and brick and cost $12.S0a.
 Almost completed, the building of the Leak Undertaking Establishment. near the corner of Lawrence Street and Dex- ter Avenue. will be one of the most completely equipped establishments If It's kind in the South. The huild ag will contain a chapel lighted through Gothic windows and will be equipped with an elevator. The front. construct ed of marble and brick, will present n particularly handsome appearance. The cost of the building will be sl0.0 .000
 Indicative of the expansion of bust.