Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 38, Number 36, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 January 1906 — 47 MILES OF BUILDINGS. [ARTICLE]

47 MILES OF BUILDINGS.

Value of ChleaKO Strnctares E.-ected In 1005 1* 5U2,000,000. The equivalent of over forty-seven miles of buildings, single frontage, costing approximately $62,000,000—a record exceeding only by the phenomenal activity of 1892, the year preceding the world's fair—represents the colossal building operations in Chicago during the past year. The real estate transactions of the year, with a total of approximately $140,000,000, also exceeded those of any year since.lß92. Considering all the circumstances, this gecord is probably the most remarkable in the history of the city and testifies to its phenomenal growth and prosperity. While abounding in interesting details, there Is probaldy no other* feature of the year’s building operations of so striking and suggestive a character as.that covering apartment house or flat construction. This has been on an unprecedentedly large seals. For 1904 the total reached $14,339,600, as compared with $7,030,300 for 1003, breaking all previous records. The figures for this year, estimating the last half of December, show tire enormous total of $21.809.900, counting oply permits of $5,000 and upward. It should be sahl that included in this are buildings containing both flats and stores, but these cut a comparatively small figure in the total. These figures are fairly staggering in their magnitude. But when it is said that the total residence construction, counting only permits almve $5,000, amounts to $2,849,600, some idea may be had of the rapidity with which Chicago is becoming a great city of flats. It also serves to suggest the rapidity with which the city is growing. For despite all these new buildings, builders and agents having them in charge report that they are being filled as soon as completed. The fact that rents generally are being well maintained would seem to confirm this.