New Britain herald., 1922-12-23
OPERATION COST
 WAS ON UPGRADE
Income Derived From Office and Mercantile Buildings Also High

Chicago. Dec. 23.-Cost of operation as well as the Income derived from office and mercantile buildings was on the upgrade during 1921 as com pared with 1920, according to a sur 'yey just completed by the National Association Of Building Owners and Managers. Taxes, depreciation and insurance accounted for the Increased operating costs.
 Comparison of 70 buildings which contributed to the survey of 1920 and 1921 shows an increase in operating expenses Of 2.2 per cent an increased income of n10.4 per cent. The report for 1922 is from 152 buildings located in 1T different cities including New York, Chicago. Cleveland. San Fran cisco and Seattle. N
 Rents and Tax Valuation. The report shows that rents range from 80 cents per square foot for loft buildings to $4.00 per square foot for the highest type of office build ing, with a mean average of s1.90 per square foot. It is explained that while this average is less than the prevail ing market price for office buildings, this fact is due to long time pre-war leases made at low rates.
 The tax valuation of land and building averages s9.95 per square foot, according to the report. The average relationship between the to- tai tax valuation and rent shows the latter to be approximately 1880 per cent of the total tax valuation. The, average net return is 7.39 per cent of the tax valuation, and in realty, 5.9 per cent earnings for office build ings. The highest net income report ed was from Oklahoma, due to ap- parent low land valuation, says the report.
 Among the factors increasing oper- ating costs were increases in repairs and alterations. insurance, taxes, de- preciation and fixed charges. Little Rock, Arkansas has the lowest tax rate. 1.57 per cent, with Cleveland having the highest, S.55 per cent and Chicago a close second with 3.27 per cent the report shows.
 Heating Important Factor. = Heating is an important factor in building costs, the report showing an average of SS pounds of steam per square foot must be furnished during the year, costing on an average 7.6 cents and consuming 17.s pounds of coal.
 The highest operating expense was recorded in Duluth, with the lowest reported in San Francisco. While Dur luth. had the highest insurance rate, New York and Seattle registered the lowest rates. Duluth also showed the highest depreciation charges, with Omaha reporting the lowest.
 Labor conditions treated in the re- port show that while the per diem in Chicago is the highest the cost per square foot in maintenance is much less than in many other cities. The pattar of keeping 8 building clean va ries according to- the city, showing < that in Pittsburgh it requires 210 days of. labor for each thousand feet, while in Indianapolis only 57 days are needed, with Chicago using 11S. The report also diseloses that power can be purchased from central plants at less expense than manufactured on the premises, exclusive of depreca- ten to- the. power plant.
 What Surveys Show.
 The survey in Chicago shows, that ' it has 11.4 square feet of rental space for each square foot of ground. De- troit, with S.2 feet, is second. Aver- age rent per square foot for both z store and office rent is s2.60 in New ; York, $2.48 in Detroit and $2.21 in Chicago. The building values for each square foot of rental space was high est in San Francisco.
 In discussing the question as to whether office buildings are profitable beyond a certain height the report states that 1t has been discovered that both gross and net income in