Evening star., 1919-08-30
ABOUT 1000 HOMES
BEING BUILT HERE
These and New Apartments
Make Record Housing
Activity for City.

Washington real estate operators
and builders who, in spite of congress
Sional Investigations that distract at
tention. are keeping in close touch
with the local housing situation, de-
clare that never in the city's history
has the National Capital known such
Il volume of home and apartment
house building as at present.
!. New apartment houses are either in
course of construction. nearing COM
pletion. or contracted for in a dozen
or more localities, even as far north
as above the reservoir on 18th street
Additions to apartment houses built
only Two or three years ago are under
way, in some cases the additions be-
ing designed TO double the original
size of the buildings
Various home building operations
now under way, it is declared by oper-
ators, total about 1000 new houses
Many of these are for individuals, it
is stated, though several operations
nearing completion or well under way
comprise from twelve residences up to
200 homes.
400 in Petworth.
In the Petworth section more than
400 homes are nearing completion or
contracted for, one operation com =
prising more than 100 houses. The
Armsleigh Park operation just east of
Connecticut avenue, short distance
north of Pierce Mill road, described
in last Saturdays Star. is to include
about 200 detached homes and is the
largest single home building opera
tion ever undertaken in a single prof.
ect in the District.
A block of semi bungalows" in By
chanan street just west of Georgia
avenue is one of the large operations
In SauIs addition. Several operations
IN the territory contiguous to the Sol
diers' Home will provide total of
about 40 new homes in that section.
One of the hotels in the upper part of
the northwest downtown section has
awarded contracts for an addition and
for improvements that will practically
double the accommodations Of the hos
telry. Plans have been prepared and
bids have been advertised for another
large hotel to be built only few blocks
from the business section, near 18th
street and New York avenue.
While home. apartment and hotel con-
struction is more extensive now than at
any time in recent years, construction
of office buildings is not being wholly
neglected. Work has been started on
AN eleven-StOry Office structure not far
from the Department of Justice. the
building to be of reinforced concrete
construction. Another Office building of
approximately the same size and of SIM
liar construction is proposed for the
downtown section north of F street,
plans already having been prepared.
Tired of Waiting.
Builders say they have waited as long
as possible for lower prices of materials
and lower labor costs. and that. having
decided that any material reduction in
these items being apparently out of the
question at this time, they are going
a N n fOFpSfall 4
further advances. That is. investors
and builders. tired Of waiting for costs
to come down. are going ahead before
costs rise any higher.
I'm former years it was often said
that Washington was greatly over
built" said one operator. This may
have been true some years ago
though never to the extent thai
many persons believed. The tremen.
dous influx of war workers and Others
just before and during the war speed
lily exhausted every houseing posi-
bility, and for the last two years the
city has not had nearly enough ac-
comm odations for the people desiring
them. as everybody knows.
Real estate men. capitalists. in
vestors and builders now are appa-
rently united in the effort to head OF
further advances in building costs
and, without waiting for decreases
that apparently are not coming, are
busy on projects that have been De
layed for the last two years. Before
cold weather sets in the city will
have a total of at least 1000 new
homes ready for occupancy, and the
total probably will exceed that, tt
say nothing of new apartment prop
critics and additions to existing apart
ment buildings. Within the mex
year and a half. it is safe to say. the
city will have ample accommodation:
for every one wishing a home here.
"Incidentally, completion of tht
building program under way at thu
present time should go long way
| toward correcting any unfortunate
conditions that may exist as Il
I rents