Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1919-01-27
HEAL BUILDING BOOM
BOOKED FOR RICHMOND
Homo Makers, Apartment Builders
and Business House Builders
Await Break in Prices.
RICHMOND NEEDS THE HOUSES
Lowering Of Prices for All Building
Material Expected to Follow That
in Things to Ent-Thcn tho Boom
Will Come.

There is talk of coming building
boom in Richmond, and those who
talk about it say il is bound to come
sooner or later. but none of them will
risk prophecy as to just when il
Will begin. There are plenty OF prog
nosticators who can give all kinds Of
reasons why it must come, but none
there be who will venture to set the
exact date.
Increased business to be noted in the
offices Of the architects When "A man
begins TO feel the building fever.
whether he has i'll mind business
establishment. a hotel, an apartment or
modes, dwelling. he starts out to
look for an architect. Later. as the
fever begins to get good hold upon
him. he starts the architect to draw
ing things on 4 big sheet of paper or
to designing with a blue print.
For the past several weeks the ar
many such evidences OF the breaking
out and development OF the building
fever. and not n few OF them have
g0t's hu busy With pencils per. traysn paper
architects generally rather buster than
they have been. This. of course. is not
understood TO mean that the contrac-
tor is going to he called in to-mor-
row or even next week or next month.
but it does mean that the building
fever has made its appearance in Rich
mond
1t is certain that tho people who
contemplate building some time in the
not far distant future are held back
for the present by the high cost OF
that there must come readjustment
along these lines. they are disposed to
hesitate for while longer.
During the past week. in fact for
two weeks past. there have been signs
all ever the country that the Inevitable
breaks n the war prices. that have
prevailed have started and the would
these breaks. which. as was expected
would be the case. have had their
start with things to eat, will. soon be
is more than, probable that building
cement. etc. will follow next
The would-be builders also argue
things to wear to normal values will
he followed by vast improvements in
the labor situation. They think the
time is near at hand when contractors
will be able TO get all the labor they
want, and 1t may he that they will not
have to pay SO awful much for it.
All Of these things might come to
pass and then Richmond might not
have building boom-certainly It
would not unless it was in need of
one. The reports that come from all
that all Of the cities of the size and
business character of Richmond are
much in need of building boom.
one that will take in industrial and
business houses as we'll as dwellings.
Richmond needed more buildings. more
business houses and more dwellings
and apartment houses even before the
war practically shut off all building
operations. II needs them worse now
and more of them. and there is prob
ably no city in the whole country in
which the demand for apartment houses
and other houses to shelter the people
is now greater than in Richmond.
growing demand for houses TO live in.
to say nothing OF the call for bust
ness houses and houses for industrial
operations. will force building boom
in Richmond, and that very soon.