.NzU0MA.NzU0MA

Planning Dep ar t me nt November 21 , 1966 Potentia ls for Low-Income Housing in Atlanta INTRODUCTION The purpose of this report is to exp lore the low-income housing ma rke t in Atlanta a nd to locate sites for 5000 units so they might be constructed in the s hortest possible time. The report is organized under the following headings: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Projects undet1'Jay. Projects in planning. Proposed sites. Low-rent housing proposals. Financing. Sunnnary and recommendations. Appendix. Information on existing projects and projects in planning was obtained from the Atlanta Housing Authority. Tre Housing Code Section of the Building Department, Atlanta Youth Council and the Planning Department collaborated on site l ocation. 1. PROJECTS UNDERWAY Perry Homes A 140 unit public housing addition to Perry Homes is now in the fi aa l stage of working drawings and specifications which should be going out to bid by the end of 1966. The addition contains large 3, 4 and 5 bedroom units situated across Proctor Creek from the existing project and adjacent to the Gun Club par.k site now under development. A bridge across Proctor Creek linking the existing a nd proposed projects has recently been completed by the city. Units are expected to be available by July or August, 1968. No community facilities are being made available within the addit i on but t wo rooms will be added to . the existing Community building across Proctor Creek in the existing Perry Homes project. Schools in the area arl operating at cap~city enrollment now. The proposed elementary school in the Rockdale project is expected to relieve the situation but is not yet funded. Local shopping facilities are also badly lacking in the area. Thomasville Three hundred and fifty units of Publi c Housing , 16 of which wil l be f or t he elder ly, are now in the "schematic design stage". Plans are _scheduled f or comp l et ion in February , 1967. The project will be executed in stages with the fi rs t uni t s comp leted by May or June, 1968. Si t uated in the Thomasville U.R.A . , north of McDono ugh Road and south of t he proposed right-of-way for the Lakewood Ext ension (Expressway), this pr oje c t will become a part of the Thomasville Community . Dobbs Element a ry School whe.re Thomasville children attend is op~rating at capacity e nrollment, which me a ns t hat a new elementary school will have to be bu ilt. The site has bee n s e t a s id e but t he s chool is not f unded . Rawson-Washington McDaniel St r eet Pub l ic Hous i ng , whi ch is now in t he constr uc t ion .,; :.. .:, •.c , will consist of 650 unit s , i nc l uding 154 high- r ise units fo r t he elder ly. �I, ~ I I Page 2 Potentials · for Low-Income Housing in Atlanta 11-21-66 Completion dates are scheduled as follows: 248 units - October 1967 402 units - March 1968 650 units (including elderly) - October 1968 A community building will have day care facilities and auditorium space divisable into smaller rooms. The high-rise for the elderly has space for social activities, arts, crafts and meeting rooms. An elementary school and park will be built adjacent to the -project. An architect has been hired for the school which is expected to be finished in two years. 2. PROJECTS IN PLANNING Rockdale Recent interest in the development of 22l(d)(3) housing in the Rockdale U.R.A. has prompted the city's Planning Department and Housing Authority to produce a new development plan for the Rockdale Project which has been predicated on the principle of cluster development to make best use of the rough topography. The amendment to the project has been completed. It is expected that the land can be offered in December 1966 and close March 1, 1967. The Rockdale Project will add 1500 units to the low income housing market, but due to F.H.A.'s unwillingness to finance more than 150 units at a time it could take at least ten years to complete the project. Existing Rockdale Elementary School expansion for 500 pupils and a proposed elementary school for 1,000, neither of which have been funded, will serve pupils both inside and outside the project. An existing Health Center in the project will continue to serve the area. Pub 1 ic Rousing Housing Assistance Administration (formerly P.H.A.) has approved a reservation for 1200 Public Housing units and 300 units under the new Low-Rent Leasing Program for Atlanta's relocation needs. Units will be divided between the four Urban Renewal projects now in various planning stages - Bedford-Pine, East Atlanta, Vine City and Cooper-Glenn. Each one of the projects is being planned with a full complement of community facilities to serve the housing, educational, recreational, and social needs of the people. Each one of the proposed Urban Renewal areas except East Atlanta is to get a Community School whi·c h will provide city recreational, social and educational services as well as space for E.O.A. neighborhood programs. 22l(d)(3) A number of 22l(d)(3) projects are in the planning stage: (a) The Atlanta Housing Authority is offering thirteen acres at Hu nt e r Street and Northside Drive in the University Center U.R.A. to p rovide 260 units. (b) The Atlanta Housing Authority i s a lso ready to offer a 7. 5 a c r ,.! s .Lte between Capitol Homes a nd I-20 Ea st which would provide 122 111' i. ts . (c) A third stage of Wheat Stree t Gardens in the Butler Street provide an additional 149 units of low rent housing . u.n A. will �Page 3 (d) Potentials for Low-Income Housing in Atlanta 1.1-21-66 A number of other sites are under private negotiation for 22l(d)(3) housing. 3. PROPOSED SITES (See Map - Low Income Housing Sites) Inf<?rmation on vacant property obtained from C.I.P. data has been plo tted and 40 sites have been located varying in size from 1.5 acres up to 112 acres, totaling 809 acres+. Locations with acreages appear in Table I. Each of these sites needs study in greater detail to obtain information on the following and other items so that intelligent decisions can be made. Topography Utilities Community Facilities Transportation Zoning Employment Market Housing Market Adjoining Land Use. Environmental Factors Desires of potential residents Housing on any site should not be considered until each one of these items has been thoroughly studied. 4. LOW-RENT HOUSING PROPOSALS Table II indicates that the six Urban Renewal Areas now in various planning stages will produce a relocation load of 7025 families now living in substandard housing. In addition to this, if all families which the CIP has found to be in structurally and environmentally substandard housing were provided standard housing, 25,000 housing units would have to be provided for low-income families. This is a monumental task, one which will require not only new concepts and techniques but also financial resources ($362,500,000.00 based on the current net cost, $14,500.00 of public housing units). The question of whether the city can afford such a program must be weighed against whether the city can afford the waste of human resources and human dignity as well as the implied dangers in the ever widening gap between the poverty ridden and the middle and upper income group . It has been proved over. and over again that most social problems come out of the slum environments - the crime rate and the records of jails and mental institutions testify to this. It is important that the emphasis of any new program be dire cted toward upgrading the individual, not just building up an inventory of housing. To have any real value, programs to improve housing conditions must be coordinated with programs to improve the educational, vocational, social and economic potential of the poor. It is obvious from the attached Table III that the city is going t o need a greatly expanded low-income housing program i n order to come up with 5,000 new units immediately. It is also obvious that new concepts and new techniques of designing and constructing low-income housing should be explored if we are ever going to be able to meet relocation and migration needs. Explore High-Rise Needs Objectively Study the use of the high-rise apartment buildings as a part of the total housing program. There are problems involved in the use of high-rise but many such as play space, elevators, corridors, lighting, private space and acoustics can be reso lved through good design and a feeling on behalf of everyone involved that the environment should be one in which people can maintain t he ir individual ity; where pride and self-respect can be built, not degraded; and where corrnnunicat i on between the resident, management and the city are in good working order. Facilities to improve the socio-economic situation of low income people must be bui lt into the �. . Page 4 Potentials for Low-Income Housing in Atlanta 11-21-66 program or else another "ghetto" is the result. The design and location of high rise should take into consideration whether single people, young married couples, the elderly or families with children are being accommodated. Community facilities would be different in each case. Transportation is another important factor. Excerpts from various publications are inserted in the Appendix to point out some of the advantages and problems which are a part of high-rise living. The open-corridor scheme for high-rise living has many advantages over the inner-corridor and is particularly suited .to our climate. The use of escalators, utilization of roof and yard space, underground parking, common facilities and management all need open-minded investigation. Develop High-Rise over Stadium Parking A proposal which deserves study is the development of high-rise apartments over the parking area east of the Atlanta Stadium. Parking decks which take advantage of the thirty-foot drop in grade between Fulton St. and Georgia Ave. could provide the additional parking needed for the stadium as well as parking for the apartments. Such a scheme would provide apartments for young working people and the elderly. The site has excellent access to transportation and the downtown and would create a good relocation resource. Use Pre-Fab to Cut Construction Time Pre-Fab techniques for housing have been used successfully in many nations. For a number of reasons - lack of interest , conservatism and preservation of the status-quo by labor, real estate developers and builders - pre-fabing has been held back in the U.S.A. However, it is being used to solve low-income housing needs- in Miami, Fiorida; Michigan City, Indiana; Rapid City, South Dakota and Chicago, Illinois. Grants are available from the Federal government to_ underwrite pre-fab demonstrations. Pre-fabs have a number of advantages: (a) Faster construction. (b) Ease of maintenance by the use of concrete and other low maintenance materials. (c) Achievement of variety by the arrangement of wall panels , window openings, balconies, etc. (d) Machine-made components with close quality control produ ce a product superior to that of conventionally built housi ng . Pre-fab construction has no cost advantage; however, savings are r eported in maintenance. The great advantage is in faster con~truction which makes up a good part of Atlanta's problem. Use Small Sites The city should expand its thinking to encompass development of low-income housing on small sites of one acre minimum. This approach might incre~se administrative work but if we are really seri ous about solving our hou sing problems, the program must be one which encompasses a wide variety of solut ions not just the typical large public housing development whose drawbacks are we ll known. (a) Loss of identity. (b) Social and economic segregation. �Page 5 Pot e ntials for Low-Income Housing in Atlanta (c) 11-21-66 Ins titutionalized appea r ance of the project (an area s et apart for a segregated group) Eve ry e f fort should be made to make the low-income housing a part of the ne ighborhood. Use Mobile Homes to Create Instant Housing The use of Mobile Homes should be given study. They provide a ch eap way of f urni shi ng limited housing which has the -great advantages of speed, sma ll site deve l opment costs and mobility. Use Rehabilitation Whenever Possible Methods should be developed to use rehabilitation of existing structures to a greater extent. Rehabilitation has the three distinct advantages of not adding to the relocation load, improving the environment of existing neighborhoods, as well as the pride and involvement of the people. Such a program requires a close working relationship between the city and the people as well as a willingness on behalf of the city to adopt new methods of dealing with such problems as: - Redevelopment of small lots Provision of open space Community facilities Community relations Financing Use Cooperative Home Building to Give Vocational Training and Resident Participation Another idea which needs exploring to add greater flexibility to our housing program is the enlisting of help from neighborhood people to help in building their homes or apartments. Such a program would be feasible if Pre-Fab techniques were used and would give the people a sense of pride and responsibility in their homes and neighborhood. The cooperative could be set up so that the rent paid would actually go t oward the purchase of the home or apartment if the people so desired. In di l apidated areas of owner occupied property, land might be pooled for cooperative building. Enlist Support of Non-Profit Organizations and Foundations Non-profit organizations should be sought out and a meeting called to acquaint t hem wi th the housing needs of the city and advise them of the various programs avai l ab le in the low-income housing field. 5. FINANCING OF LOO- INCOME HOUSING Financ i ng for low-income housing i s available by a number of methods:

Federal 22l(d)(3) Public Housing Turnkey Acquisition and Rehabilitation Rent Suppleme n t Leasing

These programs are covered in Se c tions 106 , 107, 116 , 117 and 120 o f Fede ral Aids to Local Governme nts . �Page 6 Potentials for Low-Inc ome Housing in Atlanta 1 1. - 21-66 City financing Public and private partnership Private Private foundations Cooperatives Public and private partnership Low-income families should be able to buy their own homes or apart ment units by making payments in lieu of rent. The city needs to explore financing which would allow people to remain in their homes even when their incomes rise above a certain level. 6. SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS A. This report will accomplish a great deal if it does no more than suggest some really exciting poss·ibilities and techniques for low-income housing, and stress the need to develop a program. B. Ideas have been suggested, some of which may be out of the que s tion. It is necessary, however, to explore every idea. The following procedures are recommended for developing solutions to the problem: 1. Organize a brain storming session which would include imag.i. na tive professionals, city officials and citizens in the low-income gr oup to suggest and refine ideas. 2. A slide presentation should be made to city officials, private developers and others to show them the latest and most imag inative solutions to low-income housing. 3. As a follow-up to the Housing Conference, appoint key priva te developers and architect-planners and sociologists to a committee for effecting the production of low-income housing. The committees could be organized according to the various hous ing proposals. Suggested chairmen and committees are as foll m, s : Chairmen Developers: Charles Ackerman Tom Cousins John Portman Architect-Planners: Joe Amisano John Gould Paul Muldawer Alan Salzman Ike Saporta Andrew Steiner Committe e . High-ri s e Pre-fab Mobile Homes 22l(d)( 3 ) Rehabil itation Cooperat i ves Sociologists: · Jack Schmidt The above represent a nucleus for a list. Community service should be s tressed because some of the p1~o j ects may have limited profit potential. Call attention to the ·ac t that if private development does not build this housing, public ho using will take over the low income market. �',J Page 7 Potentials for Low-Income Housing in Atlanta 11-21-66 Chairmen would appoint their own committees which would constitute subcomrnittees under the general cha irmanship of the Housing Resources Committee. The city would provide staff and research facilities for the various comrnittees, c. There are 4,645 low-income housing units scheduled for completion over the next five-plus years, which is a long way from the immediate need of 5000 units. D. A large resource of vacant land (over 800 acres) has been located for additional study. E. Make it possible for the city to buy vacant land for low-income housing in advance of actual need. F. A well planned program cannot be put together overnight. Hast e could result in a lasting mistake that the city would pay for in huma n problems. G. The planning of a low-income housing program for Atlanta to at t ack the total problem, not just increase the housing inventory, should be started immediately. The program should seek to do the following: - Outline goals. Study existing and new kinds of financing. Better site plans. Integrate housing with existing neighborhoods and study techniques for this purpose. Study management problems. Study tenant and ownership problems. Plan urban renewal and low-income housing together for a fifteen year period. Develop an inventory of low-income housing sites and re :;e rve them for future use. Develop a program which is based on many different types of projects and housing techniques so that the city can d r aw from a wide resource base and at the same time give l m, income people the kind of acconnnodation which is best suited to their needs. Prepared by: Planning Departme nt City of Atlanta November 21, 196 6 ,a �