Evening star., 1943-08-08
WAY Set for Private Housing
MENAcINS BALTIC COAST

mentS was 3.57 per cent. Its annual re-
port for 1912 revealed that the figure
had been considerably reduced" 1t
seems fair presumption that the Met
ropolitan would not have multiplied its
housing projects unless the return had
proved equal to that Of other invest
ments.
Stuyvesant Town will be the sixth Of
the Metropolitan's adventures in housing,
which represent, in the aggregate, an
investment calculated at nearly $780,
100000. The Queens project began with
an average rental of SO a room, and a
enterprise was so successful that, when
the exemption expired, it was found pos
sible to decrease rather than increase the
rate. Rentals at Parkchester range
from $32 for two rooms to $71 for five.
These figures include heat, electricity
and refrigeration The three commu-
mites in California and Virginia pay full
taxes. Their aggregate cost will be s33,-
100000, and they will accommodate to-
gether about 2e,aoo people.
1t is notable how the proportion of
building space to land area, which in
conventional tenament districts often
amounts to 30 or 80 per cent, has shrunk
In Metropolitan projects. From SO per
cent in Queens it declined to 274 in
Parkchester and to 18 per cent at Park
merced and Parklabrea. The ratio is
even smaller at Parkfairfax In Stuy-
vesant Town, the present building COW
erage of 693 per cent will be reduced
to 25.
Land Three -fourths Clear.
AS the largest and most elaborate Of
the Metropoltan's structures, uParkches-
ter stands as a symbol of what Stuy-
veSant Town will be, and as an example
for similar undertakings all over the
country. The ground space Is divided as
follows: Handicapped and recreational
areas, 51.4 per cent; buildings, 274 per
cent; and streets and parkways, PIP per
cent. There are SO buildings, of which
81 are apartment structures, six to twelve
stories high. The buildings have the
latest type Of fireproof construction and
glass-wool insulation against heat and
cold in the outer walls. They contain 200
automatic elevators, and the upper win
doWs command views of Manhattan and
Long Island Sound.
Kitchens and bathrooms are modern
and complete. Living and bedrooms are
large, airy and light. All floors are of
parquet oak. The easements are wind
and water tight, with special ventilating
sections in bedrooms. Heating is accom-
plished by concealed radiators.
The other structures include a central
heating plant, motion picture theater
with 1000 seats, five ramp garages with
total capacity of 5000 cars and shop
ping centers with branches of leading
New York department stores and banks.
Five-cent transportation to any part of
Greater New York is available through
the One Hundred Seventy-seventh Street
Station of the Interboro system.
The design represents a complete de-
Walton from the usual rectangular block
arrangement. Two wide and curving
parkWays, crossing diagonally, divide the
community into quadrants, each village
in itself. There are 20 recreational areas,
with wading pools, basket ball
courts, roller skating ovals, 20 shuttle
board courts, tennis courts and l large
softball field.
The landscaping program included the
installation of 3,700 trees, $4,000 shrubs
and 100000 plants. Among them are
naples, birch, oak, pine, honey locust,
linden, elm, dogwood, crab apple, mag
nolia, aZaleas, holly, mountain laurel,
lilacs and rhododendron. Thousands of
tulips bloom in the spring. Altogether,
the project represents a complete new
departure in housing comfort, decency
and attractiveness.
If Parkchester is a sample, commune
ties of similar nature should fear no
lack of tenants. AS the first steel girders
rose, families began placing their names
on file, at such rate that the number
was soon in the thousands. During Au-
gust, 1941, 500 families moved in. In
September 1000 households arrived.
There have been as many as 100 move
ins during a single day, many of them
by vans which have travelled long dis
tances from other States and cities.
(Printed by special Arrangement with the
st. Louis Post-Dispatch)