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. .. . .. 1 lR[NlEWlElR . NEWSLETTER OF THE CI Tl ZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR URBAN RENEWAL Vol . 5 No. 9 Atlanta, Georgia October 196 7 COMMITTEE FORMING NONPROFIT CORPORATION The Citizens Advisory ComTO PARTICIPATE IN 221 H REHAB PROGRAM mittee for Urban Renewal will form a nonprofit corporation to participate actively in the new 221 H federal rehabilitation program. T h at was the unatlimous decision of the executive committee at its October 19 meeting. Following the September meeting, at which the details of the new federal program were explained, the city attorney's office was asked for a ruling as to whether the committee by itself could receive loans and grants ·to participate by handling a project fol' the rehabilitation of dwelling units. Edwin L. Sterne, associate city attorney replied, saying, in substance, that the aldermanic resolution creating our committee provided that our function was to advise on urban renewal matters but had nd authority to act as a nohpt4ofit d:rgahizatioh. Mr. Sterne held that our committee is nbt what is known as a "legal entity 11 , but a group of persons. Accordingly, he suggested that we create a rtohprofit corporation which would be a legal entity and be authorized to enter into contracts, etc. In line with Mr. Sterne's suggestion, Chairman Sommerville called for a motion to create a nonprofit corporation. The motion was unanimously approved for a nonprofit corporation to be known as The Citizens Advisory Committee for Urban Renewal Rehabilitation Corporation. The following were named as incorporators: Robert L. Sommerville, William S. Howland, H. W. Whitman, Harold Arnold, Mrs. Grace Hamilton, Percy Hearle, Harold Davis, all of our committee and Herbert Waldrip, chairman of the BedfordPine Associate Advisory Committee. Hugh Peterson, Jr. was engaged as attorney to effe c t the incorporation. Mr. Peterson briefly outlined the incorporation procedure saying that the chief expense involved would be _publication of the charter in a legal newspaper. This he estimated, would not exceed $100. Chairman Sommerville explained that these and other initial costs will be taken care of by a loan from the Atlanta Transit System. Summed up Chairman Sommerville: "I think it is important for our committee, by means of this nonprofit corporation, to participate actively in the 221 H program. If it is carried out under the aegis of our committee, it will get good n otices and it will be very encouraging to the kind of people we have been w o rrying about." Commenting on the committee's action, Henry R. Fillmer, present in his new capacity as assistant chief of the real estate disposition depal:'-tment, HUD regional office, said: "This should generate actir,n by other nonprofit groups in Atlanta. " Carrying out General Nathan Bedford Forrest's famed battle ·plan of "gittin' thar fustest with the mostest", immediately following the Sept. 27 luncheon conference with the federal officials, Chairman Sommerville and Director Howland filed an application for a federal allocation of $96, 000 to rehabilitate eight dwelling units under the 221 H program. On October 23 we received the good news from Kenneth Finn, architect in the regional FHA office, that our application had been approved by Washington headquarters. Accordingly, while our nonprofit corporation is being formed to implement this allocation,. preliminary steps to determine a site for the project have been taken with the Atlanta Housing Authority. It is our intent to locate our rehabiliation undertaking adj.a.cent to or in the vicinity of an urban renewal project. OUR APPLICATION FOR $96,000 ALLOCATION FOR 221 H PROJECT WINS FEDERAL APPROVAL DRASTIC CHANGES IN RENEWAL CONCEPT URGED A resolution calling for two BY NAHRO DELEGATES, OPENSHAW REPORTS sweeping changes in urban renewal was adopted by the 1800 delegates to the 31st Conference of the Nn.tional Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials, Howard Openshaw, Atlanta Housing Authority, redevelopment director who attended the Portland, Oregon meeting reported to our executive c ommittee. �.. ' 2 One change was that the urban renewal concept be one of total community development instead of single project approach. The other was that the federal contribution be made .90 percent (instead of 66-2/ 3 %) and that local credits be eliminated. That would mean the 10 percent local contribution would be all cash. The resolution further proposed, Mr. Openshaw explained, that Congress adopt a goal for national housing produc tion-at the rate of 2 million units per year for the next 20 ye~rs, and that 500, 000 of this total production be established for low and moderate income housing, one half of which should be reserved for an expansion of the public housing program. The delegates also stressed the need to decentralize the Department of 11ousing and Urban Development to provide more decision making pow ers at the re~ional level to expedite urban renewal and housing programs. The res olution further rec ommended special attention be directed toward meeting the housing needs of large families and very low income families. ATLANTAN'S DESIGN FOR SAN FRANCISCO Mr. Openshaw also told the EMBARCADERO CENTER IS IMPRESSIVE executive committee that he . . was very much in1pressed by San Franci sco 1s prbposed Embarcadero Center, as designed by Atlanta's John Portm ah. He explained that the plan calls for 2, 800, 000 square feet of office space, a hotel, entertainrr.ent center and landscaping with sculpture and foun t ains , In additioi1, the Golden Gateway Center contains townhouses and high rise office buildings; a 1300 car garage and more sculpture and other works of art. Mr. Openshaw pointed o_u t that the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency requires that at lt:!ast one perteht of construction costs be devoted to exterior works of art. Fr esno, California, also is carrying out a m~jor urban renewal project, transform.fog its main street to a mall, 16 blocks long. Landscaping and extensive use of art are employed. Summing up, said he: "My particular interest was not only to see redevelopment programs of other cities, but also to secure the design standards and contr ols that produce such magnificent redevelopment areas. 11 Corr:,n1enting on the national acclaim Atlanta's urban renewal program receives, he said "We have only begun to scratch the surface. 1 1 FINDING SUITABLE SITES FOR HOUSING DIFFIC ULT IN ALL AREAS, JONES REPORTS Finding suitable sites for new· housing is diffic~lt . iri..a.U.a.r.eas of:... the city, Col. Malcolm Jones, Director, Housing Resources committee, pointed out to the executive committee, He added that sites for 3, 300 units are awaiting zoning action. Col. Jones said that 6,340 unit s now seem firm and 1,479 more appear probable, making a total of 7,819 that can be regarded as definite so far in the five year program. He added that the number available for use by the end of 1967 should be scaled down from the earlier estimate of 2, 534 to a little more than 1, 900. The prospect for 1968 is seen as a total of 3, 159. He said that the Housing Resources committee had recommended the selection of scattered sites. In a discussion following Col. Jones' remarks, Collier Gladin, city planning engineer, reported that the land use study is proceeding slowly with continued revisions. He expressed hope that an acceptable plan would be ready by January 1, 1968. Executive Committeeman Calloway urged support of a project in the Jackson -- Boulevard-Hollywood area. It embraces 60 acres, including 221 D 3 units, apartments, shopping center and condominiums. Mr. Calloway added that it was adjacent to the first turnkey project and was awaiting federal approval. Referring to the difficulty of obt aining sites for housing, Lester H. Per sells, AHA associate executive director, pointed out that4·, 500 public ·.hou.aing units mea~s finding some 40 parcels of land. Consequently, they will have to be located in different areas in the city. He als o pointed out that with the lead time on individual projects ranging from six to 18 months, the need for action is apparent. An honor guest at our October 19 meeting was Maruo Shioda, deputy chief editor of Shukan Yomiuri, weekly magazine with a circulation of 700, 000, published by a leading Japanese newspaper. In Atlanta as a participant in the State Department's international visitor program, :tv.. r. Shioda was making a special study of u r ban problems, with emphasis on the sociological and human factors. JAPANESE EDITOR IS OUR GUEST, TELLS OF HUGE HOUSING COMPLEXES �-3Asked by Chairman Sommerville to address the comrr.ittee, Mr. Shioda spoke briefly through Ichiro Mike Nishimura, State Department escort-interpreter. He stressed the point that the housing shortage iri Japan most serious affects the middle income groups. Government housing is supplied in very lar 5 e complexes, which include parks, shops and super markets. Housing is in high rise structures, extending to 15 stories, with 22 to 25 families on each floor. Mr. Shioda also photographed our comrr:ittee in action . NEW GA . STATE PROGRA!v: TO DEVELOP TRAINED URBAN WORKERS, DA VIS EXPLAINS The airn of Geor Jia Stat e ColleJe' s new urban affairs program is to develop skilled people to work with cities and counties, Executive Committeeman Harold Davis, public relations dire ctor at the colle 6 e, explained October 19. He pointed out that the four year course, for the dec,;ree of Bachelor of Science in Urban Affairs, will train students to help solve uroan problems. After two years ·o f general studies, thos e seekin 6 this degree will devote their final two years to courses in urban J eography, racial minorities , the politics and economics of urban life, demoJraphy and kindred subjects . To support this program, the City of Atlanta is contributin 6 $18,000, he said. Mr. Davis also briefly mentioned the remarkable 6 rowth achieved by Georgia State over the past <lecade. In that period, the colleJe' s academic program has expanded from one degree and eight majors to 23 degrees with 13 7 majors. He also pointed out that the State Board of Regents had authorized a new school, the colle J e's fifth, to open next July. This is the School of Applied Health and Sciences. Its pro 6 ram will embrace courses in therapy, nursing and health subJects o the r than the disciplines required for the MD degree. NEW URBAN RENEWAL REPRESENTATIVES, STONE AND THOMAS, ARE INTRODUCED Hank Fillmer, who for the past six years has been workinc;; closely with us as HUD' s representative, introduced his successor and associate to the executive comrnittee October 19. Directly succeeding Jl.'~ r. Fillmer, who has been promoted to assistant chief, real estate disposition department, is Clyde Stone, now Atlanta urban renewal representative. Mr. Stone for m erly was urban renewal representative for North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida areas. Also introduced was Anthony Thomas, who will be associated w ith M r. Stone in the Atlanta area, actin g chiefly as urban renewal repre sentative for East Point, College Park and Decatur. As you may have noticed, the new ' 'Plan for Better Cities" cornn. emorative stamp is being u sed on our comr.- ittee' s October mailings . This has brou 6 b.t a comrr_endatory letter fro m Atlanta Postmaster Geor ~e W. Camp, who wrote "This is a great idea and you are t o be corn.rr~ended for promoting your pro 6 rams in this very excellent way". Re 6 ardi n g this unusual and attractive stamp, explained Postmaster Camp: ·'This stamp was designed by Francis Fer ..;Uson, instructor in the School of Architecture, Division of Urban Planning , Colun , bia University, New York City. It was issued to hi 6 hli g ht the critical need for urban planning, an objective in which our government is vitally interested I con~ratulate your committee for its work toward intelligent planning for the renewal of sections of our city. USE OF "PLAN FOR BETTER CITIES' STAMP BRINGS ACCLAIM FROM POSTMASTER FOUR SCORE MEMPHIS LEADERS HERE TO STUDY CENTRAL CITY PROGRESS As guests of Central Atlanta Progress, Inc. , some 80 business and professional le aders of Memphis, Tenn., are visit ing Atlanta this week to see at first hand and hear at first ear how Atlanta sets the pace of progress for the Southeast. Headed by Philip A. Perel, president of the Downtown Associat ion, the Memphians are paying particular attention to the central city. In so doing, they will see how importantly urban renewal is involved. It will be recalled that, after Mrs. Joan Strong, chairman of the Memphis Citize ns Advisory Comn,ittee, attended one of our meetings last fall, Executive Director Howland was invited to tell the Memphis committee how our committee helps keep Atlanta's urban renewal program moving forward. NEXT EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING - NOVEMBER 21 - DETAILS LATER. �