The Architects' Cry: Why Building a Home in Seattle Just Got Expensive
Local builders and designers report that material costs have skyrocketed, making it impossible to price new construction accurately as the city expands.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
THE DIFFERENT architects throughout the city are complaining of the high prices they are compelled to pay for materials. There is a great difference between the prices now and what they were three months ago, said Architect Moon today. 'We are required to figure our plumbing work at an advance of 25 per cent, and the trusses are causing all of the trouble. A house that could be figured for $1,000 several months ago would now cost $1,300.'
Architects Allen and Josenhant are pushing the work on the plant of the new administration building for the State University, and they will be ready for the contractors to figure on by Friday.
F. V. Seymour is preparing to build a new residence at the corner of Fifteenth and Pine streets West. It will have all the modern improvements and will cost, when finished, between $1,800 and $2,000. Architect R. W. Houshton is drawing the plans.
Owing to the increase of scholars in the public schools, the board of education has decided to make alterations and add new additions to the present building. Allen and Josenhant are working on the plans for the new addition.
The plans for Stone, Stanford & Co.'s new building on Second Avenue, between University and Seneca streets, are completed, and Architect R. W. Houshton informed a Star reporter today that a building permit will be taken out this week. A number of workmen have been employed the past two weeks grading and preparing the ground for the new structure.
This 1902 report on construction cost inflation mirrors modern Seattle's housing crisis, where volatile material costs and labor shortages frequently derail affordable housing projects. The specific mention of a home jumping from $1,000 to $1,300 in just three months highlights how quickly housing affordability can erode during periods of rapid urban growth.
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