The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-04-02

realtor-builder, recently said: T have found it more profitable to re- habilitate and market existing houses than to build new ones"
 In the past three years, he has rehabilitated, reconditioned, and disposed of at a price satisfactory to both himself and his clients about 400 homes.
 In Cleveland, surveys made by Edgar L. Ostendorf, past president of the National Association of Real Estate Boards, show graphically the value of modernization in bringing building incomes back up to profit able levels.
 Spurred on by a study of build ingS on secondary street in his city which showed rentals in recent years had depreciated as much as 62 per cent, MT. OStendorf traced the effects of modernization on an- other group of buildings along Cleveland's Euclid avenue. He learned that after the buildings were remodeled, it changed the en- tire atmosphere of the neighborhood and rentals commensurate with the high returns of the '2Os were again realized
 He watched a similar face-lift- ing project on single building in the same area. He found that a new front and modernized interior, along with proper real estate man. agement, increased rentals from $6,- 900 a year to from $16,O00 to $18,000.
 A group of 25 small grocery stores kept a careful accounting of in- come and profits before and after modernization of their stores. Net profits rose an average of 300 per cent after modernization, from $547 to $2032 One owner said: '"The remodeling costs were paid for out of the increase in profits during the first year"
 In Philadelphia one owner re- modelled five dilapidated downtown buildings. Unable to adequately maintain the propertie as they were, he became convinced that the only way he could get more-and more suitable-tenantS was through modernization. New tenants came in at higher rentals, resulting in 30 per cent increase in the build ings' income.
 In Louisville, Ky, income from downtown building started sliding in the 1930's and hit bottom in 1886. A rehabilitation program was un- dertaken and immediately the earn- ings curve started sharply upward. For the past three years, the gross income has equaled, even exceeded, that of 1927, the first full year of operation.
 Rehabilitation of residential areas are producing like results. The own CTS of 1,6O0 homes in the Waverly district of Baltimore have launched community program described as "a pioneer experiment in coopera- tive city rebuilding" One of the first owners to "face-lift" home was able to increase the houses rent from $25 to $50 g. month.
 Active support of this growing re- mobilization movement is being given by the National Association of Real Estate Boards. The Urban Land Institute, Independent re- search and advisory agency initial ly sponsored by the association, is lending a hand to help cities set up long range plans aimed at eliminat- ing rundown districts. Urged for each city are careful studies of pop ulation shifts, traffic and parking problems, congestion within the dis trict and "confiscatory taxes"
 In explaining the associations re- mobilization program, MT Ostendorf declared:
 Long range planning is neces- sary for real rehabilitation. Ger tain immediate steps, however, can and should be taken. The primary step is the eliminati ton of dilapida- tion through lifting campaigns to start the area out of the dol drums and to start the restoration of business property on a sound, in- come producing basis"