Evening star., 1926-05-01
BUILDING IN SOUTHERN CITIES
in 1925 TOTALED Sl.225.O0O,OO
Gain of Quarter Billion Over 1924, and Biggest in
History of Section Is Record of Construction
Year, Figures Show.

Building construction in the 16
Southern States for the year of 1925
far eClipSed any other year in the his
tory of the South. reaching the tre-
mendous total of more than $l,225,
600, ,000--a gain of more than a quar-
ter of a billion over 1924, according to
statistics compiled by the Building
Construction Research Bureau of G..
L. Miller & Co.
Building figures from official sources,
compiled in the survey, showed that
construction in 1853 principal cities of
the South totaled 1926, APO ,922 for the
va3r of 1925 in comparison with
tnta! of S632, ,00S, $50. a gain of more
>.1!AS a per cent. 1t was estimated
that construction in the large number
et resort developments and in smaller
cities and towns which do not Off
ciallY record building permits, would
add approximately $500 900, 600 to the
1925 total.
The survey stated that December
building figures showed construction
still going forward a the same record
breaking pace, which indicates that
the huge building program for 1925
Will he carried into 1926. Building
totals for the month of December not
only gained 40 per cent over the same
vcmber record of 1925 by % per cent.
Huge Gains i'm Florida.
While tremendous building develop
nienI in Florida was largely reSpon-
sible for the huge gains in Southern
building construction, it was noted
thar the other Is States also made
gains averaging more than 5 per cent
during the year. Forty cities in
-. I N
$S7.624,4l7 for the previous year.
gain of approximately PAS per cent.
The greater Miami district, which in
cludeS Miami. Coral Gables. Miami
Beach and Hialeah. registered the
tremendous total of S105,372.l92 as
compared with S31,526.634 in 1924.
Miami alone, with $50, ,024 ,260 worth of
construction. led all Southern cities
for the year. outstripping even such
cities as st. Louis. Baltimore. Kansas
City, Houston, Atlanta and Memphis.
Another outstanding feature of the
years building program, it was eX-
planned, was the large number of re-
sort developments which were made
IN numerous sections of the South.
This movement. while most conspicu-
ouslY felt in Florida. extended over a
much wider area. The gulf coast had
a remarkable growth. particularly in
the State of Mississippi. induced by
the purchase of a direct line into
Gulfport and Biloxi by the Illinois
Central railroad. Western North
Carolina and east Tennessee also re-
ported numerous important develop
ments, many of which rival the Flo
rida projects both in extent and cost.
New Industrial Plants.
The substantial character of the
development of the South during the
past year was emphasized by the sur
Vey, which said:
The fundamental growth of the
South, however, is best reflected by
the fact that more than 5000. 1000, 900
was invested in new industrial plants
in 1925. The industrial strength of
this section was also still further en-
phasized by the fact that more than
700.Q 900 horsepower of new hydro
electric power was either brought in
during the year or will be brought
into production during the early
months of 1926. Several hundred
thousand of new horsepower to be Sc
cured from dams to be erected during
1926 was also announced. I
While the textile industry at large
was slightly depressed during 1925, |
the great Southern textile belt of the
Piedmont continued 10 expand at an
amazing rate. More than 250,000 new
spindles and $500 looms were added
to the SouthS already huge totals, :
and many millions of dollars We're
spent in affording bleaching and
dyeing facilities. Numerous new
hosiery plants were established dur
ing the year.
The most striking textile eXpan-
sion, however lay outside the cotton
manufacturing field. Four immense
rayon plants We're either begun or eX-
panded during 1925. giving the South
ern area at least so per cent of all the
rayon production in the country.
These new plants and improvements
will represent an investment of more |
than $21 ,000, 900 when completed.
Textile Production.
Diversified textile production is |
becoming conspicuous throughout the |
textile belt, with several new silk |
mills begun. Much of the new CON |
struction is by Northern firms, which |
moLJ hI9u!u0Puu II9Ql 5u!AoW oiB /
Northern plants to the South, or pur
chasing existing Southern properties
and expanding them. One power Of |
fetal makes the statement that North
ern manufacturers have so invested
sums in excess of $1G0 GOO, 900 during
the past two years.
The Southern railroad lines had
y