.Nzc3OA.Nzc3OA

1flH](E R[l!\l[E\W[R NEWSLETTER OF THE CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR URBAN RENEWAL Vol. 5 No. 11 Atlanta, Georgia December 1967 OPENSHAW CALLS FOR CONCERTED ACTION TO HALT BLIGHT A S HE GIVES REPORT ON YEAR OF URBAN RENEWAL GAINS Delivering an inspiring report of notable progress in urban renewal during 1967 to our Dec. 19 full committee meeting, Howard Openshaw, Atlanta Housing Authority redevelopment director, also sounded a call for private enterprise, churches, labor organizations and civic groups to join with public efforts in a concerted endeavor to turn back the spread of blight. · Swnmed up Mr. Openshaw: "Too many people look to a single tool to solve all the problems of the city. For example, urban renewal was not designed to speak to the problems of unemployment, lack of education, crime, and other social diseases. Too long have we looked to public programs alone to solve our problems. Churches, civic organizations, labor unions, industry - private enterprise must become involved if we are to succeed in our endeavors. 11 In addition to citing the gains achieved by Atlanta•~ urban renewal program during 196 7, Mr. Openshaw also reviewed the exciting outlook for 1968. The text of his report follows: SLUMS AND BLIGHT ARE GROWING - "Atlanta, like every major city across our land, has awakened to find itself sitting on a potential powder keg. Countless ages of neglect and apathy has resulted in an accumulation of urban blight and decay. People are rebelling against their environment, and we see the resulting strife and turmoil in Milwaukee and Detroit. To make matters worse the slums and blighted areas are growing, not shrinking. In the last 5 years, Atlanta has increased its number of dwelling units by 9, 141. During this period, the number of dilapidated structures were reduced from 12, 000 to 3, 000. However, the number of substandard units increased from 22,800 to 49, 300. "The City's population increase is projected at an annual rate of 2%, with the negro population increasing by 62% and the white population by 4%. Those who can afford it are moving to the suburbs. The City's financial resources are limited, there is no help from the State, and the demand for Federal funds is three times the available supply. We simply do not have adequate resources to cope with all of our problems. 11 MUST USE EVERY AVAILABLE RESOURCE - "The time for action is upon us. We must use every available resource, every tool to make our cities more liv a ble, to enrich the quality of men's lives, and to make every citizen a productive member of Society. We must eliminate our slums, yes. But also, we m u st halt the spread of blight. Urban renewal is the tool that can allow us to have a slumles s city. An effective program of code enforcement is essential to preserve our neighborhoods and to halt the spread of blight. A top priority i n the city is to provide housing for low and moderate income families. The mayo r has set a goal of 16,800 units to be constructed in the next five years. But even here, we are finding it difficult to find suitable, reasonably pric:ed land for low-cost housing." PAST TWE LVE M ONTHS SHOW PROGRESS IN ALL PHASES OF RENEWAL PROG RAMS - " In 8-1/2 years, Atlanta's urban renewal program has made giant stride s in r edeveloping its blighted areas. �-2"From the period December 1, 1966 to December 1, 1967, the Atlanta Housing Authority has acquired 538 parcels of land at a cost of $4~ 7 million. The Authority relocated 576 families from u rban renewal areas! and provided housing assistance to 687 additional families relocated as a result df other governmental action . During the past twelve months, the Authority demolished 477 structures comprising 766 dwelling units, and completed rehabilitation of 201 dwelling units. The Authority sold 97 parcels of land for $886, 722 and put under contract for sale an additional 60 parcels of land having a value of $2 million. Construction was begun on improvements totaling $2. 1 million. These improvements include 106 apartm ent units in the Butler Street Project, and 38 single family units in Thomasville. Improvements tailing $4. 8 million were completed in the past 12 months, including office buildings for the U. s. Rubber Company, Ford Motor Company, Avis Rent-A-Car, and Cousins Properties. Construction was started on 240 dwelling units and an additional 41 dwelling units completed during the period." NINE PROJECT AME NDMENTS APPROVED - "Amendments were submitted and Federal approval received on the following urban renewal projects: Butler Street, to pr·ovide a second high-rise for the elderly adjacent to Graves Homes on Hilliard Street, and land expansion for Ebenezer Baptist Church; Rockdale, to provide for changes in land use and street pattern; Thomasville, to provide public housing north of McDonough Road; Georgia State, to add the block north of the police station to the project area; Georgia Tech, to include an additional $737,810 as Section 112 credits toward the City's share of project cost; Buttermilk Bottoms, received Federal approval of Part I of the Application for Loan and Grant; Bedford- Pine, to combine the Buttermilk Bottoms project with Bedford-Pine; Bedford-Pine Letter of Consent, to permit acquisition of additional street rightof-way for the Auditorium; Bedford-Pine draft Part I Application for Loan and Grant. Amendme nts were submitted on the following urban renewal projects for which Federal approval has not yet been received: Rawson- Washington, to extend project boundary to provide land for school expansion, park, and neighborhood center; Bedford-Pine Early Land Acquisition Loan, to provide a site for public housing, and to make available rehabilitation loans and grants for properties along Boulevard." COMPETITION SPURS SUPERIOR PROPOSALS -'!A significant achievement of the renewal program was the development competitions for land in Rockdale, RawsonWashington and University Center Projects. A fixed price was established on the l and, and redevelopers proposals were restricted to residential development under Section 221 d 3. The Atlanta Housing Authority staff, the City Planning Department, the American Institute of Architects, American Society of Landscape Architects, the Citizens Advisory Committee for Urban Renewal, the Housing Resources Committee, the State Planning Bureau, the U~ban Renewal Policy Committee and the Hou sing Authority's Board of Commissioners reviewed four redevelopers proposals in Rockdale, seven proposals in University Center, and six proposals in Raws on- Washington. The fixed land price, development competition approach not only resulted in superior proposals from redevelopers, but assured maximum livability for families of low and moderate incomes. The Authority, with assistance from CACUR, conducted 1,271 people on tours of Atlanta's urban renewal and public housing programs." MODEL CITY, BEDFORD-PINE EXECUTION TOP EXCITING OUTLOOK FOR NEW YEAR - "Exciting things and a lot of hard work lie ahead for 1968. The City, in cooperation with other agencies and residents of the area, will begin planning the model city area. The urban renewal and public housing programs will be involved in the total attack on the social and physical blight of the 3, 000 acres of .land extending from West End to the other side of Grant Park. The Bedford-Pine Urban Renewal Area will enter execution. The Authority will provide temporary relocation housing for those families living in the initial clearance area. Staging the execution activities will minimize the number of families displac ed. Construction will be started on improvements costing $26. 2 million on urban renewal land in 1968. These improvements include 1, 468 dwelling units, the Ira Hardin Office Building, stadium motel, and the International House in University Center. �- 3"The ninety-five ar eas of land on McDonough R o ad rec ently m a de ava ilable to the City by the Federal Governme nt will be added to the Thoma s ville Project, and pla ns will proceed immediat ely t o g.;rovide land for public housing, townhouses, single -family development, and a n elementary a nd middle-high school. We must continue our commitment t o e liminate s lums wherever they occur, and to halt the spr ead of blight. We must p r ovide dec e n t hous ing for all our people, with special emphasis on l ow and mode rate income families. But we must do more than this. W e must becom e more sensitiv e to t he physical design and development of our City. For , unless Atlanta is t o become a haven for the homeless and the poor, we must create an environment t o a ttract people of every economic level of life as together we s e ek to make At l anta the gr eat city it is destined to become. 11 HUD'S STRAUB CONG RA T ULATES AT LANTA ON PIONEERING M ODE L CITY C ONVE N T ION Thanking Mr. Openshaw for his pertinent and perceptive report, Chairman Sommerville emphasized the impo r tance of t he model city program and called on Charles N. Straub, Federal Ag ency Liaison Specialist, from H UD, to b r ing our committee abreast of developments in this n ew city-federal coope r a t ive e ndeavor. Explaining that Atlanta was one of only nine s outh easte rn cities and 63 in t h e nation to receive conditional approval, Mr . Straub p ointed out t hat final disposition of the planning grants reserved, depended upon the citie s p re s enting acceptable work p r ogr ams to HUD. Such plans are exptec t ed within 4 5 days. He specified that HUD had requested Atlanta to outline a fiv e y e ar progr am w ith a specific work plan for the first year. He pointed out that Atlanta's plans w ould hav e to be revised because the city's request for $500, 000 as a planning g rant w as cut to $152, 000, In di scus s ing this reduction, Mr. Straub mentioned that Atl ant a had received a n additional $100, 000 from EDA, but only $18, 0 00 of thi s w oul d appl y dire ctly to studie s in the model city area. Then M r. Str aub cong ratulated Atlanta warmly on innovating the plan of holding a convention open t o all re sidents of the model city area. This convention, held at Hoke Smith Technical High Sc hool Sunday.., afternoon, Dec . 10, is regarded as a new departure i n citizen par t icip a t ion, M r. Straub stressed. Said he 11 No city has really thrown the model city program open a s Atlanta did with this convention. The city a l s o is to be congratul ated on acc epting .what the people asked for. 11 (NOTE- This r efers to acti on b y the Alde r manic Board Dec. 18 approving the request made at the convention for a repre s e n tat i ve from each of the six neighborhoods involved on the g overning board of the m odel city program) In a following d is c u ssion, Mrs. S. F . C rank pointed out that E OA was a prime mover in organizing the c onvention. Mrs. Gra ce Ha milton a lso express e d congratulations to the A l de rmanic Board in accepting the recommendations made by the c o nven tion. (NOTE- A mong othe r s representing our committee at the convention was Diredor Howland. ) A ction is unde r w a y t o loc a te hous es for s uita ble r e h a bilita tion by our nonprofit corporation , CACURRCI unde r the 2 2 1 H program, the full committe e meeting was informed. Executive committ eewoman Hamilt on r e porte d that w ith Walter Screws of the Atlanta Housin g Authority , and Directo r Howla nd, s h e i nspe cte d a numbe r of dwe llings in and near the University Center project on D ecemb er 14 . Sh e s tr ess ed the p o int that if such houses c ould be fou nd i n this ar ea, the ir reh a bilitation would impr ove the project's public image. Mr . Screws a dded that all houses seen were single family occupied. In reply t o a quest i on fr om :Executive committeeman P e rcy Hearle , Chairman Sommerville said 19 h ouses ha d bee n located east of Glen Iris a nd n o r th of Hunter Stre e t. A guess~ stimate w ou ld b e that the houses w oul d range in valu e from $ 4 , 500 to $8, 000 a nd that r e h a bilitation woul d c o s t fr om $2 , 000 t o $4, 000. Exec u tive c ommitteeman Harol d Arno ld also suggested s ome hou ses on Mo rgan Street a nd Boulevard Place. He pointed out that al s o considered had been the a rea Mr s. Hamilton inspecte d, the area ,a d jacent to the Nash- Banns section, the South Atlant a region beyond the model citie s area and t h e area east o f Bedfor d -Pine. In support of t he Boulevard P l a c e - Morga n Street l o cation, Mr. Arnold p ointed out that it had experien ced racial u nres t and tha t l oca tion of the 22 1 H proj e ct there , would indicate interest in solving its pr oblems . In t he following d i scussion, Mrs. Hamilton urged that the Atla nta Hou s ing Au thority keep a coordina t e d li st of properties screened. Chairman Sommer ville p ointed out that s u ch lists would b e available from the city Bu ilding Dep a rtme n t and t h e H ousing Authority. ACTION BEGINS TO L OCA T E 2 2 1 H HOUSES ; T WO LISTS OF SUGGESTED DWE LLINGS GIVEN �