Evening star., 1936-09-06
GREENDALE Town
BUILT TO ORDER
Prospective Tenants lndi'
Gated Desires in Ques-
tionnaire.

trdUeLed SeDerQt th0hSdnd HlleS u
inspect the housing projects in
mann parts OF the United States.
BY WILLIAM C. McCLOY.
Greendale, the Greenbelt town near
ing completion 8 miles southwest OF
Milwaukee, and currently the subject
of q taxpayers suit, enjoys the dis
tinction of being town built to order.
Before 1t was started, questionnalre
was sent to the prospective tenants
asking them to indicate what sort OF
town they preferred.
The replies were Illuminating.
Eighty-five per cent wanted SWIM
ming pool. About the same proportion
asked for a public library. Athletic
fields, a shopping center. schools, chill
drens Fairgrounds. motion picture
theater, large parking space, an as
sen1bly hall and a school forest were
also suggested. One man wanted TO
know If he could keep dog, and was
told only goats are barred.
Separate houses were overwhelming
ly preferred to fats. AS result,
Greendale will have 800 houses OF the
single family type, SO of the 2-famlly
type and 55 Of three, four ana SIX
family type. The one apartment
building will house 20 families. There
will be 4S6 buildings, providing Ioo
housing units. The project, as
whole. includes plans for the erection
of twice that many houses at later
date.
Covers 1S5 Acres.
The houses will cover 185 acres OF
open country and the entire commu-
nifty Of town, green fields and woods
will occupy 3,491 acres. This tract
cost $1,258,376, or an average price OF
$3.50 per acre. The total expenditure
for the entire project will be ST.
o5o.000
The average house lot in this Wis
consin community Is 5000 feet, giving
space for a small garden. Tenants
can obtain space allotted for larger
gardens nearby if they so wish.
Expert town planners have arranged
the houses so that each home Will
have q maximum of sunshine. open
space and privacy. A series OF cul-
gridiron streets of former town plan
ming. Traffic has to go around Green
dale. 1t cannot go through it.
The houses, built Of cinder and con-
crete blocks, vary in size from small
units with a combination Of living
and bed room to larger units contain
ing four bed rooms. Every unit in
cludes a good-sized kitchen and bath
room. None OF the houses will have
separate dining room, but space for
dining Is provided In alcoves in the
living rooms and the kitchens are
large enough for combination use. A
Few houses will have Easements; most
of them will have space for laun-
dry and furnace in a utility room on
the first floor.
With the exception of the one
apartment house, each unit will have
its individual coal-burning warm-air
furnace. The apartment house will
have a central heating plant and q
few of the smaller units will be heated
by oil.
Cooking by Electricity.
There will be no gas in the town.
Cooking will be done by electricity,
and each house will be equipped with
an electric range and refrigerator
permanent fixtures in all the homes.
The energy will be supplied by Mil
waukee utility company. The rental
will cover the cost Of current to the
tenant and the electricity will be
served unmetered.
Rentals have not yet been deter
mined. They must be sufficient to pay
the cost of operation of the COM
munity, maintenance of the property
and repay the capital investment
charged against the community. 1t
is thought this can be done on rentals
charging from $22.50 to $35 per
month. The aim will be to keep the
rentals within Is per cent OF the ten
ants income.
The $7,O50.00 allocated for Green
dale covers the houses, grounds, allot-
rnent gardens and the small farms to
be rented to practical farmers. As
in all the Greenbelt towns, a nom
profit-making corporation will take
ever Greendale as soon as 1t is fin
ished, pay 8 per cent interest on the
mortgage and set aside 13 per cent
for amortization, as well as the SAL
aries Of the manager and his assist
ants and all taxes. The engineer in
charge Of the project is Grover Adams,
who won renown as the builder of
the Chrysler skyscraper in New York
City.
Jobs for Relief Workers.
Eighty per cent of the Greenda1e
work will be performed by relief
workers under the direction of skilled
men. The unskilled men work SO
hours month for maximum of
S60.50-the hourly rate being 687
cents. The hourly rate at Greenbelt,
Md, Is 511z cents.
Greendale will have all the essen
tials that any other Wisconsin town
has. The water for the community
will be obtained from two deep wells,
each with capacity of 1000 gallons
q minute. Storage tanks, accommo-
dating reserve supply of 100000 gall
Ions, will be erected.
Three main roads link the COM
nunity with Milwaukee, Cudahy and
West Allis More than $4,000 steady
jobs, in an industrial section famous
for its stability. are available within
20 minutes of Greendale.
Greendale was begun last March,
with the hope of having the COM
munity ready for occupancy in Oc-
tober. Severe weather interfered At
times snow from IL to IA feet deep
covered the project and it was not
until April that real work started.
The project is now expected to be
finished by April, 1887. At Mary
lands Greenbelt town the mortgage
is scheduled to run 40 years, but Mil
waukee wanted so years-the reason
given being "the longer the mort
gage, the lower the rent" 1t is un-
derstood that both Greendale and
Greenhills will have so years to re-
pay their loans.