Evening star., 1944-02-19
Washington Realtors
Ready With Plan for
Urban Redeve|opment

Members of the Executive Coun-
Gil of the Washington Committee
Of the National Real Estate Boards
have prepared plan to re-establish
a full-scale urban redevelopment
program which would provide
private builders a larger oppor-
tunity to compete with public
housing.
Concluding three-day meeting
In the Mayflower Hotel yesterday
the realtors Endorsed proposals Of
fered by Herbert U. Nelson, execu-
tive vice president, that public
housing must be replaced by
a private enterprise program" and
the necessary public work in the
urban re development program
should be carried out completely
on a local level through municipal
redevelopment authorities under
local control and not be dependent
on the Federal Government"
The proposal actually involved an
incentive taxation plan" whereby
private enterprise would be enabled
to develop deprecated areas on
modern basis under long term
contracts.
Authorities to Be Set Up.
Municipal redevelopment authori-
ties would be established under
State law with the power of eminent
domain and the right to issue re-
development bonds Proceeds from
the bonds would be used to assemble
large areas of land in blighted
areas. The areas would be re-
planned on modern basis, and the
land sold or leased under long term
contracts, the yield of the annual
payments retiring the bonds.
Land would be sold in large or
small amounts to any private de-
velopers who would rebuild the
area in conformity to the overall
plan. Necessary public buildings
would be built in the usual way.
The areas would be rebuilt into
attractive, close-in neighborhoods,
with good home environment, or
could be used for commercial pur-
poses, according to the best land
use as determined by the redevelop-
ment plan, it was stated.
To get land costs down to low
levels, redevelopment bonds would
carry a low rate of interest, and the
land cost would be amortized over
long period Redevelopment
bonds would be tax exempt and, in
addition, current income used for
purchasing such bonds would not
be subject to Federal income tax.
Thus, upper bracket income, nor
mally subject to heavy taxation,
could be put to work in clearing out
blighted areas and serve a public
purpose in exchange for the exemp-
ton right, the report noted.
Lower Rents Proposed.
Privately built low-rent housing
projects would be built in the new
areas as needed. Truly low rents
would be made possible by low land
cost and by cheap building money
through the same income tax
exemption device. Any current in
come invested in low-rent housing
projects would be exempt and the
yield from the operation also would
be exempt up to limited return.
Additional earnings would be
plowed back in lower rents. Earn
ings would he limited in exchange
for the exemption privileges, and
the exemption would be granted be-
cause the projects would serve a
public purpose-housing low income
families-and make unnecessary the
spending of public funds on public
housing, the council felt.
Mr.. Nelson emphasized that the
plan has enormous potentialities and
the income tax remission device is a
totally new concept. 1t is justified,
he declared, because the money in
volved will be put to work for a pub
lie purpose and beneft-the elimi-
nation Of growing blight, the pro-
vision of true low-rent housing, and
the restoration Of tax values. Re-
developed property would pay full
local taxes, thus restoring local tax
assets The low-rent housing. he
said, would be, in effect, public
housing, privately operated"
Details to Be Worked Out.
additional work is to be done on
details, and the plan will be advo-
Gated publicly. Meanwhile, it was
pointed out that local boards whose