The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1925-06-20
GIT Y BUSINESS
PROPERTIES
INCREASE
Downtown Section Win Con-
tinue to Grow and Spread
With Progress Of City
BY MORTON j. LUCHS,
lce-President and Treasurer,
Shannon 6 Luchs, Inc.

AC19 area Ok w dSl1HS AOu SAaoS heSNo
taken place within the last seven
or eight years may have been rea-
sonably thought impossible by the
average resident Of Washington.
The average business man, q non
resident Of Washington, but who
occasionally visits our city notices
/ more quickly the major changes
that have taken place than does
the local resident, the latter TAX
ing for granted the changes which
he sees because OF his more or
less intimate contact with them.
He is by no means as apt as the
visitor o. the student Of Washing
toms development to really appre.
ciate the real significance OF these
changes and their direct bearing
On values.
Business property, whether It be
in the District OF Columbia, or In
any live, progressive city, is rec
ognized as the most substantial In
vestment OF today, and this has
been true Of the past. City central
business properties are becoming
more and more everyday to the ex-
peTIenced realtor. what high grade
merchandise IS to the merchant.
Business properties must be mer-
chandised in the same way that
q merchant merchandise his goods
whether It be for sale or for lease.
One cannot just take q piece OF
city central property and say I
want a certain price for sale or a
certain price for lease" basing this
calculation simply upon cost Of pro.
duction. This was an ancient meth.
. Cd and no longer workable. More
lnodern and up to date ways have
home about through necessity and
experience, and q live, wide awake.
experienced realtor Is kept busy
and thinking all the time to keep
abreast with what Is the real sit
uation, and what are the real mer
candising problems.
Business Property Area.
Regardless OF the city's growth
and the opening up OF new business
O 100 per cent? business property
district, mad this is usually referred
to the city central business prop
erty area. It is here that in
tensfve merchandising is conducted
and here alone can that be done.
Outstanding examples Of this are
20 be found IN the developments of
our Seventh street northwest, q
mtreet northwest, FAourteentfi street
beween r and New York avenue
northwest, and Of course, r street
northwest. The growth of these
more or less restricted areas are
somewhat slow, but absolutely GER
tain.
Many points must be taken into
consideration In arriving at lease
or SALE values, such az foot traffic
passing the door car line facilities,
barking facilities for autofnobilss
and many others too numerous to
mention. One must also take into
consideration the different kinda OF
business that could probably occupy
q certain piece Of property as II
q well known amongst experienced
realtors and experienced merchants
that some lines OF business can az
ford more rent or overhead sthan
others, and some must have more
space than others. For years one
must make a conscientious study
&C city central property to arrive
at sale or lease values and 1t has
proven an excellent idea to keep
records Of certain changes in GER
tain neighborhoods Of buildings as
well as foot traffic and automobile
traffic on certain valuable business
streets. Thfs data In itself Is a
story that shows why certain busi-
ness streets have certain rapid de-
velopments. One viii notice at
times that certain blocks in a bust
ness section develop from a ladies'
block to a mems block Or vice
versa, and such records kept are
found eventually to affect values
whether they be lease or sale.
100 Per Cent Street.
In city centrally located properties
and more especially on the con-
gested 100 per cent business streets
great caution must be used and
usually is used to retain the street
as 100 per cent street, as it has
been proven in other cities that too
much rent to a merchant or too
high selling price often ruins the
merchant and sometimes a whole
street, by driving merchants to
another section where their over
head will be less. There is a limit
to everything, and there again
perienced realtor merchandising
business locations. Let a mer-
chant be overcharged on his rent
and you may ruin him to the point
Of failure. This failure may affect
merchants in the entire block. A
fair rental for the owner, for the
tenant to pay, can be arrived at
and in doing so the property IL
kept successful, the merchant
makes, good, the neighborhood pros
pers, and the 100 per cent business
district is retained where 1t be-
longs. Washington today charges
less rent on it's best business streets
than other cities Of about the
Asame population, N fact cities Of
he same population are charging
huch more.
VIII Hold Value.
Our best streets in the city cen.
trail district have rounded out in
great shape in the last few years
and you can depend upon 1t that
these streets will hold their values
for many years to come. 1t Is only
natural, for the smaller merchants
not being able to keep up with the
ctty's growth and not being quite
20 progressive to have peen crowded
out OF the 100 per cent streets into
the adjoining streets and thereby
making this adjoining property
more valuable than it was and also
charging the downtown business
section.
Their places nthe 100 per cent
streets are being taken up by the
larger merchant and more progress
:. sive ones who see the opportunity