Evening star., 1942-10-19
Housing Center
To Start Work
Tomorrow:
Will Aid Owners
Leasing Homes
To Government

The War Housing Center, a new
agency charged, among other duties,
with aiding home owners willing to
lease their houses to the Govern
ment for war workers, will be opened
tomorrow in the Information Center
Building, Fourteenth street and
Pennsylvania avenue NV, the
National Housing Agency announced
today.
News of this facility followed
closely the disclosure of MIA Satur-
day that despite the 56,774 housing
units built, under construction or
scheduled in the Metropolitan Area,
there still necessarily would be a
housing shortage and the Govern
ment planned to lease private homes
on a large scale and remodel them
for war workers.
The War Housing Center, however,
will deal with all phases of housing,
facilitating the selection of tenants
for new residential units and fur
nishing general information con-
corning the situation as it appears
from day to day.
Provides Clearing House.
"The urgent need for more hous-
ing in this area" said Willard F.
Day, regional representative of the
National Housing Agency, makes it
imperative that all phases of the
MIA program to provide additional
facilities be integrated and fullest
use made of available accommoda-
tions with least strain. on trans
portation facilities.
1.-THE War Housing Center will
provide a clearing house for in
formation on all housing in the
Metropolitan Area. 1t will list the
new units of both Government and
privately built housing completed
and under construction, and will act
as a sieve in selecting applicants who
are entitled to new war housing,
directing qualified applicants to suit
able accommodations nearest their
places of employment"
The center also will carry out in
this area the home conversion pro-
gram announced by John B. Bland
ford, jr., administrator of the Ma
tional Housing Agency, including ex-
pansion of the war guest plan and
Government lease of larger buildings.
Expansion of Registry.
The agency will represent an ex-
pansion of the work of the Defense
Housing Registry, through which
vacancies in existing housing have
been listed for incoming workers.
This activity will be continued, and
the homes registration Offices in
Alexandria and Clarendon, Va, per-
forming similar function, will oper-
ate as a branch of the War Housing
Center.
Mr.. Day pointed out that none OF
the Federal agencies engaged in
housing activities maintained Gen.
trail tenant selection office, and
their types OF accommodation
varied widely. Neither do private
builders maintain central agency
for tenants or purchasers, he added.
The War Housing Center is to
register all new housing through
the voluntary cooperation of the
public officials and the private
owners concerned. War workers
seeking accommodations can obtain
this information from the center"
Applications from owners willing
to lease their homes to the Govern
ment for the duration will be ac-
cepted at the center as soon .as
operating details have been worked
out.
Limited to Districts.
Mr.. Day said houses to be taken
over in the conversion program
would be limited to certain districts,
to be determined by the MIA re-
gional staff. II the property meets
preliminary qualification, he ex-
planned, technician will inspect it
and prepare plan showing whether
the house can be remodeled to pro-
vide additional living units.
With the owners approval of this
plan and the rental offered by the
Government, a lease will be signed
and the Improvements will be made
without cost to the owner, who may
lease back one of the new units for
his own use if he desires. The Gov
ernment will provide the tenants
and manage the property, returning
it to the owner within reasonable
time after the war"
The War Housing Center will be
open from 8 a I'm. to 8 pm. daily and
from am. to pm. Sundays. 1t
will serve the Metropolitan Area, in
cluding the District, Alexandria,
Arlington and Fairfax Counties and
Montgomery and Prince Georges
Counties.