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M . B . SATTERFIELD EDWIN L . STERNE 1 r/ ; P CHAI A'44N GEORGE S . CRAFT EXECUTI V E DIR.ECTOR ANV SEC RE T ARY LESTER H. PERSELLS ' AS SOCI ATE VICE CHAIR MA N E X E'..GUT IVE 0 DIRECTO R CARL TON GAP.RE TT DIRECTOR J. B. SLAYTON OF FINANCE GILBERT H . BOGGS DIRECTOR OF HOU S ING FRANK G. ETHERIDGE HOWARD OPENSHAW JACK F. GLENN DIRECTOR 624 HURT BUILDING ATLANTA , GEORG IA 30303 JACKSON Of REDEVELOPMENT GEORGE R. SANDER TECHNICAL DIRECTOR 3-6074 January 21, 1969 Mr. John T. F.drnunds Assistant Regional Administrator for Renewal Assistance Department of Housing and Urban Development 6L~5 Peachtree - Seventh Building Atla.~ta, Georgia 30323 Re: Project Ga. R-10 Rawson-Washington Urban Redevelopment Area Project Closeout Dear Hr. Edmunds: As you lmow, it is the intent of the Housing Authority and the City of .Atlanta to complete all activities in the above mentioned project and achieve project closeout at the earliest possible date. We are, the::- efore, attempting to clear up all those matters which might delay the closing of this P-.coject. · One of the problems which may affect pr oject closeout involves that area of the project l ying along Georgia Avenue i..lJl.l~ediately south of the Stadium. We have- attached a map sh01·rlng the area in question, which is bounded by Georgia Avenue, Capitol Avenue , Bass Street and Washington Street, and lies partially within Project. GA. R~lO and partially within Pr oject NDP A~2-3. Project GA. R-10 illustrates many of the reasons that the NDP appr oach to renewal activities is wise. The original Ur ban ReneHal _P lan for tl:i. is pr oject included mult:L-family housing for t he area now occupied by t he Atlanta Stadium . With that l and use in mind, it was contempl at ed that 'c.he proper l and us es for the area ilmneoiately south of Georgia Avenue would be for retai l commercial uses compatible wlth a relatively high density resicJ.ential area. Since t he Atlanta Stadium has been completed, t he commercial l and use originally cont emplated no longer is achievable. Possible developers have expressed no intere st in carrying out the r edevelopment as originally proposed. The new t and Us e Flan of the Cit y cont empl ates conur£rcial reuse for t hi s entire area of a t ype properly re l ated to the nei ghbor i ng Stadi um. Hi t h t his i n mind, t he Housi g Authorit y , at t he dir ect i on of t he Ci ty, wishes to a ss embl e t he entir e area bounded by t he above listed four street s i nto one t ract of l and , whi ch Hould t hen be off e1•ed for r edevelopment. This would cont empl at e closing �-2- Crew Street between Georgia Avenue and Bass Street. Bass Street west of Washington Street has been widened to serve its logical use as a connector to the South Expressway. The City's Land-Use Plan provides fo r the w:i.uening of Bass S treet betwe en Washington Street and Capitol Avenue so that it can properly serve its role as a traffic artery. On December 31, 1968, Part I of l\.Jnendment Nine to Georgia R-10 uas submitted to your office. .T his Amendment provides for the acquisition and assembly of all of the land in the su.bject area lying within Project GA. R-10. Already approved for acquisition is that portion of the subje ct area lying within Project NDP GA. A-2 -3. In order to carry out the objectives of the City and to provide for the early closeout of Pr oject GA. R-10, we recommend that the follOi·rl.ng actions be taken: (1) Amenchnent Nine to Project GA. R- 10 involving a Federal Capital Grant of $479,760.00 and a Relocation Grant of $33,580 . 00 be approved as soon as possible. (2): As soon as .Amendment Nine has been approved, that the area, together with the Federal and local financing,be transferred to the NDP. This transfer uould not involve a net change in Federal Capital Grant since the amounts t ransferred from one project to the ot her would be equal. In fact, such a transfer might result in some minor de creases due to possible savings in interest and adminis ~ trati ve costs. (3} As soon as the l and can be assembled i nto one Urban Renewal activity, as recommended above , the necessary surveys and appraisals be made , and t he entire super block be offered for s ale. An offering of this type pr obably should be advertised for at least six months. After the awa.1·d, t he developer pr obably would need 12 - 18 months to obtain leases, prepare plans, and specifications, and to arrange financing. It will, therefore, be appr oxi mately t uo ye ars. before const ruction can start on this development. At the present t ime , the Model Cities office is located in a movable building on a small por t i on of this site . The Mode l Cities Plan, as currently appr oved, contemplates additional relocatable structures in this area to furnish needed off ice space. The building now located here and others contempl ated are occupying land hel d under lease lrl.th a 30- day Cancellation Cl ause. It is contempl a t ed that pr ior to the time construction could start on a permanent redevelopment t he Hodel Cities Office st r uctur es would be r elocat ed elsewhere . . ..,, �-3- Such a move is time. relativel y inexpensive and would consume very little It is our hope that you will carefully cons ider all the factors outlined above, and if possible, will concur in our recommendation. It is our sincere belief that t he foregoing affords the best method of achieving an orderly redevelopment of this area and an early closeout of Project GA. R~lO. Sincerely yours , .. · /!

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Lester H. Persells Associate Executive Director Enclosure cc: Yir. Earl Metzger MCP - HUD - Room 852 Mr. Rodney M. Cook Mr. Charles Davis Mr . Collier Gladin Mr. Earl Lander s LHP :as �