FLORIDA “BOOM.”

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 2 January 1926, Page 8

FLORIDA “BOOM.”

FORTUNES MADE IN REAL ESTATE. MIGRATION OF MEN AND MONEY. Alter IS months the spectacular migration of men and money to Southern if'or id a from al) over the United States is still unchecked. Contrary to universal prediction, the “great land hooin” —to give it its ordinary but misleading name —so far from collapsing long ago, has grown bigger and biggei. It has reached the proportions, ono may say, of an historical event, says the New York correspondent of lhe Times. As “booms” go, it has been exceptionaiTf long livo-d; the inoie strangely because this particular adventure has lacked none of the extravagance of incident and advertisement common to “booms” m genera . Men have made thousands of dollars in Florida by the mere flourish of a pen, and land that they have never seen has brought them millions. Without the foundations—which are more than ordinarily substantial—the life of the Florida ‘‘boom” would have been measured by weeks instead ol years; long before now it would 'have vanished, leaving nothing behind but a myriad of ruined investors. Even as it is. the “boom” must be rapidly approaching its end. When a foot of frontage in Miami brings more than a foot of frontage on Broadway no observant man needs a printed warning to tell him that the climax is near. Rut to suppose that the whole F'orida movement will therefore fade into oblivion, and that nothing would be salved from it of real gain to the State and tho nation, is seriously to under-estimate its essential worth. F'orida has been “discovered” three times—once by Ponce de Leon in bis search for the fountain of perpetual youth; the second time in 1883-84, when, according to a history handbook, “after long neglect, this beautiful and fertile wilderness was warmly taken up by British and American capitalists”'; and again just after the war, when a few far-sighted Americans, convinced that the time was at last ! ;pe, boldly hacked their imagination with their dollars, and at one stroke planted whole cities on tenantless beaches and great farms in a wildeiness.'

They were not in combination, but went their separate ways. Some on the east coast, some on the west, others .again in the swampy interior, built bridges and highways; dug channels in harbours, and made islands of the dredged-up sand; erected dwellings and business blocks, theatres, casinos, ‘‘coliseums.” country clubs, swimming pavilions, and—in tropical Florida—even great skyscrapers. They imported shiploads of tiles from Spain to fit out their “new Riviera,” and on the river islands set up Rhine cast'es—with all the latest' improvements in

plumbing. They constructed causeways 150 ft wide and 15 miles long from outlying beaches to the mainland. They drained a part of the Everglades for the growing of sugar and cotton. And spending prodigally and daring everything they did at least what they had set out to do —they kindled the imagination of the American people.

Florida was by no means unworthy of tlie interest they awakened in it. With the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the Gulf of Mexico on the other, it enjoys an equable climate, and extremes of heat and cold are almost unknown. Its liberal laws act as an incentive to industry. The Constitution of Florida forbids" the imposition by the Legislature of income or inheritance taxes, a circumstance which has induced a large number of capitalists to establish legal residence there. But the “boom, which at first was welcomed by many Floridans, is now deplored by them.

The centre of excitement is Miami, 20 years ago a town of .'ess than 10,000 .eople. hut now with a population of 50.000 and looking forward to one of a million in a few yours. Stretching from Miami in three directions are miles of residential districts. To the north and south are 10 or 12 very large land development schemes in progress and innumerable smaller ones. On one of them alone it is intended to spend £20,000,000 in the next ten years There has already been spent there £0,000,000 for hard - surface streets, side-walks, sewers, water, gas, and electrical installation, drainage of new lands and the building of a big hotel, club houses, swimming poo's, and about 1000 dwelling houses. Another development scheme to the north ol Miami has a programme for the expenditure of £10,000,000 in the next live years. There is a town near Miami which is but four years old, yet it has 100 miles of wide paved streets and boulevards ; 1000 houses, in harmonising types of architecture, built, and as many more building; six hotels, or which one, not yet completed but to b e finished in ' January, is to cost £2.000,000; two golf courses finished, two more in preparation ; and two country elube already in use. There are to he built there a - university at a cost ot £3,000,000; a Masonic temple to cost £100.000; a high school to cost £200,000; and a military academy, a stadium, a theatre, a Roman Catholic women’s co'lege, and a conservatory ot music. Thirty million dpllars has already been spent on this town, and improvements now in progress call for the expenditure of a further like amount. The property sales in this one enterprise have thus far exceeded £lO,000.000.

With the great inrush of new residents and tourists to Florida and with the . extraordinary building activity, particularly on the Fast Coast, it was inevitable that transport facilities, designed for a much smaller traffic, should become serious'y congested. The railwav voids as far north as Washington arc filled with Florida-bound goods

trucks, for which there is no way oi moving south. * Housing long ago became a seriousproblem, so serious that many of the real estate and construction companies have had to erect apartment houses solely for the occupancy of their ov n employees. There is a scarcity of ahour of all kinds, a scarcity of Turiiiture and household supplies, a scarcity in some places of food and ice. Or only three things can it be said there is an abundance —building lots, money, and enthusiasm.