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u, _. O EDWIN L, STERNE L E STER H . P E RSE LL S CHA IRMAN E X ECUTI VE DIRECTOR At-.::> S ECRET A RY CARL TON GA R R ETT GEORGE S. CRAFT D I RE CT OR OF F I NA ~l C E VICE CHAIRMAN GILBERT H - B OGGS D IRE CT OR O F HOU S ING HOW A RD OPEN S HAW J , 8 , SLAYTON DI REC T O R OF R E D E V ELOPM E NT FRANK G. ETHERIDGE GEORGE R. SANDER TECHNI.C A L DIR E C T OR JACK F. GLENN 82 4 HU R T B UIL D I NG ATL A NT A , GEORGIA 30303 JACKSON 3-6074 September 30 , 1969 Mr. Malcolm D. Jones Executive Di r ector Citizens Advisory Committee for Urban Renewal City Hall Atlanta, Georgia 30303 Dear Mr. Jones: Mr. Parsells has asked me to reply to your letter of· August 18, 1969 relative to the Executive Committee's concern over several features of Atlanta's Ur b a.n Rene wal Program . Fir s t , let me say that we share the Committee 's concern over the leng th of ti me r equ i r ed to close out earlier proj e cts. However, .to imply tha t the leng th of time taken to close out projects is due to an apparent l a ck of aggressivene ss on the part of the Authority is ludicrous . The original fi v e urban r enewal projects have been a.mended fort y -two times , requi ri ng an additional eight million dollars from the Fe deral g ove rnment, and resulting in a stadium, expansion of Georgia State Colle g e , additional land for schools, parks, and neighborhood facilities, acqui s ition of commerci al properties on Georgia Avenue, and numerous other i mpr ovements. The average length of time involved in securing Federal appr oval of an amendment has been twelve months, with several requiring thirty months. A second major factor delaying project close-outs is the funding and construction of non-cash grants - in - aid. The Butler Street Project, for example, could not be closed out earlier because the proposed school was not funded until the passage of the 1968 bond issue, with constr uction starting in August, 1969. Even after renewal land has been sold, many developers have experienced del ays caused by the tight money ma~ket, high interest rates and s oa ring costs. Nonethel ess, proj e c ts a r e not closed out with out s pec i al ef fo rt . Re cently I e sta blished a s pac ial tas k fo r ce t o iden t ify and expedi t e a ll . remaining a ctivities to be c ompl e ted i n the ori ginal pro jec ts . Two of theae pro j ects - Butler Street and , Ge orgia State - have been completed this year and are waiting final HUD audit. I want to assure the Committee that the Authority r e cogniz e s its responsibility to proceed as rapidly as possible to complete the early projects . EP>c.l 2. �-2I share the Connnittee's concern over its seemingly perfunctory role of late. If it is to perform its fun c t ion as outlined in the Alde rmanic resolution creating the Committe e, ie., advise the Mayor and Bo ard of Aldermen and other public bodies conce r ned with Urban Renewal in the City, then it seems to me tha t .it must continue to review proposed Urban Renewal activities formulated by the various project area committees with an overview of the total needs of the City. The Committee's views on pending redevelopment actions should be expressed to the Alde rmanic Planning and Redevelopment Committee, as did Bob Summerville, former Committee Chairman. The Autho r ity will cooperate in any way poss t ble in assisting the Committee in c arry ing out its function of providing guidance and direction to the City in the administration of its Urban Renewal program. The comments pertaining to the West End Urban Renewal Project are obviously personal expressions of frustrations shared by the Authority. The West End Urban Renewal Project is now in its third year of ex ecution and to date the Autho ri ty h as a cqui r ed 516 p a rcels of l and (87%), relocated 457 familie s and 77 bus inesses (97%) , demolished 354 s t r uctures (74%), sold or put under agre ement for sale 54 acres of land (55%), and · completed rehabilitation of 504 structures (22%). In addition, the · Authority h a s acquired and conveyed to the City 8.7 acres of land for park development, and the 1.1 million dolla r Dean Rusk Elementary School has been completed. The redevelope r for the 15 a cre enclosed mall shopping center is pre s ently securing l eases, with cons truction s cheduled in 1970. In spite of the progress made to d a t e , the re a re three specific areas in West End where progr e ss h a s been del ayed. The fir s t i s the seven acre t r act a dj a cen t to the Pa rk Stree t Me thodis t Church. This area involve s a l and u se change and is i n clude d in an amendment submi tte d to HUD on June 17, 1969. On Se ptember 23, HUD &pproved an Autho r ity request to procee d with a public h earing and loca l adoption of ~he plan amendment pursuant to offering the land for s ale for resident ial re-use. The public hearing h a s be e n s che duled for October 17 befor e the Planning and Development Committee. A second area involves some twenty-f our acre s of l and in the vicinity of Lee and Oglethor pe, presently designated fo r of fice wa r e hous e a nd general office use. The Wes t End Advisory Committee had prev iously agreed tha t this area needed furthe r study in light of the proposed location of rapid transit in the area. The third area involves the motel and residential uses on Oak Street, between As hby and Peeples Streets. The three a cre motel site was on the market for 18 months and no propos als we re received. Five rede velopers submitted proposals for 76 dwelling units on pa rcel 19, but the West End Advis ory Committee recommended rejection of all pr oposal s , r e - study of the site i n conjunction with the motel tra ct, and re- of fe r fo r sale . The sta t u s of the West End plan will be di scu ss ed wi th t he West End Adv isory Committ ee on Octobe r l. The Authority recognizes t he u rgency of p roceeding as rapi dly as possible in e a ch of the e ight conventional ·ur ban renewal areas and five neighborhood development program areas in t h e City. I want to assure the Committee that Mr. Parsells and I have commi tted ourselves to this task while making the program responsive t o human needs. �-3We pledge our con tinued cooperat i on to CACUR and others de v oted to making Atlanta the great city it is destined to become . Very truly yours , ~~ Howard Openshaw Director of Redevelopment HO:pc cc: Mayor Ivan Allen, Jr. Mr. Rodney M. Cook Dr. Noah N. Langdale, Jr. Mr. A.B. Padgett Dean Alex B. Lacy, Jr. �