The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-05-20
Daily Wall Street Gossip
BY HOLLAND.

New York. May 1s.-within few days
 negotiations involving at rough est-
 mate more than S1O0, 900, ,000 have been con- cluded and will be followed by the erec- tion of office buildings, some of them in the new business, financial and hotel
 zone. which is contiguous to the Grand Central terminal and is some three miles north of Wall street. Nearly one-half of
 this expenditure is represented by the negotiations between a syndicate and the
 New York Central Railroad Company which has for it's purpose the securing of land north of the Grand Central ter minal upon which to erect two of the largest office and apartment structures in New York.
 The New York Central Railroad Com pany possesses the title to the land. It
 came into this ownership almost unex- pectedly because when the legislature commanded that all of the railroads which enter New York be electrified it was necessary in order to obey this leg islative mandate to purchase blocks or land stretching far away north of the Grand Central terminal. At first the question arose what was to be done with this land excepting the part of it thet
 was needed for the identification of the system. This question was answered when the New York Central offered to put up or finance the construction of large office buildings and at least one very large club building now occupied by the | Yale Club. The response to this offer was instantaneous, and there began a wonderful building development of apart ment houses and office buildings which | is now to be supplemented by this S40,0OO, 900 proposition.
 | The demand for office buildings has 1 justified the converting of one of the largest and also most fashionable hotels | in New York into an office building, all though this is not the only case of its kind. Another hotel which for years was very prosperous and popular and located upon Fifth avenue is now being convert | ed into an office building.
 HOW THE FINANCING IS DONE | Many persons have wondered how it is possible in these days, when credit is said to be strained, when the securities market is upon the ebb and when higf commodity prices prevail, as well as the very high cost of labor and material, tc
 perfect the financing of these many mil
 lion propositions for the building of new
 office and apartment structures has beer secured. The answer reflects modern development of a certain kind of high 1 finance, which is honorable. The demand l for offices in New York City is not only | without precedent, but is also causing very great increase in rentals to be made and accepted by tenants. Therefore, il occurred either to some of the higf | financiers or some of those who are en- gagged in very large building transactions that it would be possible to finance the propositions by mobilizing the rents fol
 term of years. For instance in the
 $40, GOO proposition which involved the | construction of two very large apartment and office buildings in the Grand Centra zone there is to be contained provision I that those who seek offices or apartments 1 in the building agree to pay not only the 1 large yearly rental which the modern
 demand justif1es, but also to pay in full | for term of the lease. It may be thai | the term will be as long as six years, although the understanding now Is thai
 only five years payment is to be de- | manded.