New-York tribune., 1919-01-14
Property in This City Now
Under u. S. Control To
Be Held 2 to 5 Years
Cutting Down Rentals
Real Estate Men Help With
Negotiations at Great Saw
ing TO the Nation
New York Tribune
Washington Bureau

"of't''St"'' h|''eS"
WASHINGTON. Jan. 13-Real estate
operators and others who are anxious
to have the various government depart
ments that have acquired real estate
by lease or purchase during the war
dispose of it at an early date are
doomed to disappointment according
TO informatioa obtained to-day On
the contrary, the expectation is that
in q number of places, especially New
York ard some other ports, large
amount OF additional storage space
will be acquired by the War Depart
ment Within the last few days more
than 3,000,00O feet of storage space has
been leased and from 100000 to 2,0OO,-
600 fee. monthly additional will be
taken on for several months to come.
The prospe are that all OF the stor-
age faclntieS acquired and to be &C
quired by the War Dc partment will be
retained for from two TO five years.
1t is asserted by real estate inter
csts iii New York and other cities that
the government has taken 50 many
buildings and so much land of one
kind and another that commercial de-
velopment is likely to be greatly
hindered. If this is so it appears that
the hindrancc will have to be borne
with for q long time.
Large Purchasers Here
Altogether the government acquired
about 1000 pieces OF real property for
war purposes. Most OF this is leased
but there have been few purchases
on an enormous scale In New York
City alone there are many hundreds of
pieces of valuable leased property in
the hands Of the COVER. ment. The
South Brooklyn base will cost the War
Department about S2,500,000 for the
land now in process Of requirement
by requisition, ard the improvements
thereon are costing about S35,000,000.
Another big purchase and improvement
investment is the Newark Bay quarter
masters base, which represents al told
about S15,000,000. and SO far as it was
designed as an ocean terminal is now
conceded to be & huge mistake. though
1t has turned out to be very valuable
for storage purposes.
Of all the numerous pieces acquired
in and around New York only one has
so far been given up, and the chances
are that all the rest will be held for
some time. If Congress passes the
500, 100000 bill for revictualling Europe
there will be use, it is said, for all of
THESE pieces.
Space for Storage
The reason that so much storage
space is needed after the war is over
is that immense quantities of supplies
and munitions that We're in process OF
manufacture had to be finished They
were ordered to meet the requirements
of 100000 men overseas. The ending
of the war has resulted in a reduction
in the volume of shipments. whereas
the delivery of goods continues on an
immense scale. In order not to break
the market by dumping the unneeded
goods on it all at once the government
will have to hold some OF them for
number of years.
Wherever the termination of the war
has resulted in properties being USE
less to the government they are being
turned back as fast as possible, but the
process is at best very slow one.
Much of the property acquired in the
first year of the war was purchased at
enormous prices or leased at very high
rates. For the last year experienced
real estate men have been in charge of
this phase of the War Departmen
work, and all real estate transactions