Evening star., 1942-01-04
Richmond Lists
.781 Living Units
For Patent Staff
Coe Orders Changes
In Offices; Transfer
Dute Not Settled
Picture on Page A-14.

Exclusive Of furnished and un.
furnished rooms, nearly 800 housing
units are now available in the Rich
mond area for the 1900 Patent
Office workers listed for transfer to
that city, according to a special
survey made by the Richmond
Chamber of Commerce, prelimi-
nary report of which was received
yesterday.
The survey showed 233 houses for
rent or sale in the Richmond area,
with IA new houses for sale, max
ing a total OF 377. Also available
are 70 apartments in private homeT
1853 apartments in apartment houses,
and 167 flats, or 404, in all, in this
classification. This makes total Of
781 housing units.
The Richmond Chamber of Com
merce also reported that $50 rooms
are for rent, many of them large
enough to accommodate two per-
sons. In 274 Of the rooms listed,
meals are also available. These fig
ures, it was explained, do not include
hotel rooms.
Details Not Given.
The report received here yester-
day contained no data on rents, or
the desirability, and physical con-
dition Of the housing units listed.
Detailed information on these and
other matters is expected in later
report.
Conway P. Coe, commissioner OF
patents, returned to Washington
yesterday from a visit to Richmond.
where he inspected the Export Leaf
Tobacco Building. which the Patent
Office has taken over to provide
Office space for examiners and other
personnel to be moved from WASH
ington.
With government engineers and
representatives of the Public Build
ings Administration he completed
arrangements for the changes neces-
sary to adapt this building to the
special needs of the Patent Oflce.
Transfer Date Unsettled
In addition to the erection Of
partitions between the spaces al
located for various units. good
deal of work still remains to be
done before Patent Office workers
can move into the building. Com
missioner Coe is not yet ready to
fix definitely the date on which
the actual transfer of personnel,
files and equipment from Washing
ton will begin.
OF the personnel to be transferred
to Richmond, it is estimated that
nearly go per cent own homes in
the District. Some employees have
already indicated their intention Of
keeping possession, temporarily at
least; renting rooms in Richmond
and returning here to spend week
ends with their families. In some
cases, it is said, homes have already
been purchased In Richmond.
Others plan to rent their Washing
ton homes and move to Richmond
''for the duration"
OF the approximately 1.200 en-
ployes listed for transfer. not all
will require houses or apartments
in Richmond, officials pointed out
yesterday.
To Approve Some Transfers.
In cases where the removal will
impose an unusual hardship on the
| individual, the Commerce Depart
ment is expected to approve re-
quests for transfers to other agen-
cies remaining in Washington. Such
requests will not be approved. how
ever, merely because the shift to
Richmond will cause inconvenience,
1t was said.
Commissioner Coe, who will divide
his time between Washington and
Richmond, will transfer his Office
here from the third to the first
floor of the Patent Office, where
the search room is located. Offices
also must be improvised on the first
floor for the defense, liaison and
other uits remaining here. Material
In the scientific library and base
ment files essential to the work Of
the examining divisions will be
moved to Richmond, Commissioner
Coe said.