The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-07-10
Biggest Housing Plan
 Attempted In Bronx
l2,269 New Apartments to Be Erected Through
 Financial Setup of Metropolitan Insurance Co.

I The Metropolitan official said the Parkchester project, permissible by recent state legislation, was under taken as a sound investment and will provide facilities for families in income groups of from $l,500 to $4,000. He aded that there will be no subsidy through tax exemption of this community project.
 MT. Ecker pointed out that this vast project also is helping to re- lieve the unemployment situation by furnishing jobs in the factories, forests, mines and the transporta- ton field as well as on the site of construction over 8 period of ap- proximately the three years neces- sary for the completion of the proj- ect.
 Parkchester, MT. Ecker said will consist of 5l groups of buildings comprising I'll units of from seven to twelve stories each of which will contain self-operated elevators. The community will provide 12,26o apartments of from two to five rooms each, with a total of about 43,000 rooms. The community will have neighborhood stores, theaters and garages.
 120 Acres
 This project covers 12o acres of which only slightly more than one- fourth will be devoted to buildings. There will be wide, winding, tree- lined streets with five large parks affording playgrounds, gardens, Wading pools and facilities for many types of sport.
 In an interview subsequent to the hearing, MT. Ecker said that shortly after the war, when there was a shortage of inexpensive houses throughout the country the Metro- politan undertook to assiset the general housing situation by flnanc- ing the erection of new homes to help answer this demand.
 "In 1920 Metropolitan expanded US home mortgage organization to do this" MT. Ecker said, "and in that year appointed some 23 mort gage loan correspondents. This sys- tenn was rapidly extended through out the country. Loans through these Correspondents have been made principally on one, two and three family houses and inexpen- sive apartments.
 ITO certain extent the company has made direct building loans on new construction but in the large majority of dwellings the pro- cedure has been for 1t to make a commitment to lend upon the com- pletion Of the building. With this commitment in hand, arrangements for construction loans have been readily financed locally. Tn all, Metropolitan has financed new construction of approximately 104,- 900 dwellings, accommodating l13,- 900 families and 4,700 apartment Houses accommodating 86,000 fami- lies-approximately 100000 families in all-with a total investment of $835 100000. "The figures" MT. Ecker pointed out, were exclusive Of Farm Loans and of course, ex- elusive of loans on office and busi- ness properties and referred merely to new construction in the period of June 1920 to the end of 1938
 Loans Granted
 "In addition the company has loaned on over 10000 dwellings and 2,600 apartment houses previously constructed so that the total aggre- gate of loans on residential dwell- ings and apartments, new and old, is approximately $1,240,000 900 on 18l 800 dwelling buildings providing accommodations for 313,500 families. These have been located practically throughout the forty-eight states and the District of Columbia"