Evening star., 1944-02-26
Million Home Units
Completed by MIA
In War Work Areas

The National Housing Agency this
week marked two years of operation
with statement that 1000, 900 new
or converted war housing units have
been completed for occupancy by
5000 900 people IN war industry Sec
tions, Administrator John B. Bland
ford, jr., reported today.
These included approximately
$50, 900 family dwellings-more than
half of them financed by private
capital-about 10000 dormitory
units for single workers, and over
10000 stop-gap housing units, pri-
marily trailers.
To expedite the war housing pro-
gram, Mr.. Blandford said, the MIA
co-ordinated war housing policies
with the war production and war
manpower programs, cut the use of
critical materials in war housing by
go to 80 per cent per unit from
peacetime levels, assured continued
participation by private capital in
the program through Title vi mort
gage insurance, shifted over pub
licly financed war housing to basis
of temporary construction, and
stimulated community cooperation
in order to meet more than half
the war housing need through exist
ing housing in war industry areas.
Building Rate Mounts.
While meeting the full impact of
the material and manpower short
ages that developed after Pearl Har-
Dor, the completion rate of war
housing rose to an average of $4,000
units month during the "a months
of MIA operations from $4,000 units
month IN the preceding 20 months
of the housing emergency. Mr..
Blandford said.
To-day, about 100000 war hous-
ing units have been completed, in
Guiding those built prior to the
establishment of the MIA, and
about 100000 more are under con-
struction or scheduled" he declared.
"Of the completed units, more than
l 300 900 are family accommodations
Through this housing, the needs of
outside workers recruited for war
jobs have been met in the large
majority of war industry areas. Al
most 1000 localities have required
some volume of war housing since
the start of the emergency"
The war housing now under con-
struction or scheduled is located in
areas where continued recruitment
OF outside workers is necessary in
order TO meet production goals,
Mr.. Blandford said.
There is also the continuing need
to secure maximum utilization in
the best interests of the war effort
from the large volume of war hous-
ing now completed. At least "a per
cent of the family accommodations
in projects completed for three
months or more are now occupied.
Vacancies Exist.
I'm few areas. however, vacan-
cies now exist, concentrated pri-
marily in temporary projects built
to meet emergency needs. These
vacancies reflect reductions in en-
ployment needs at some war estab-
lishments, notably ordnance plants,
or delays in achieving manpower
recruitment goals.
"A considerable proportion of cur
rent vacancies is being held to ac-
commodate future manpower re-
cruitment of specific war industries
and will be filed as those manpower
schedules are attained. Other
vacant units will be utilized through
modification of regulations to per-
NIT occupancy by others than in
migrant workers. Some will be
held as standby facilities in the
event the war plants served should
again need to expand employment.
Recognizing that shifts in war
manpower and production schedules
are inevitable, the MIA built tenn
porary projects where it was clear
there would be no long term need
for the housing after the war. This
temporary housing has been pro-
duced at an average overall cost of
S2,700, including sites and utilities.
While providing decent shelter
under wartime conditions, this hous-
ing is not suitable for long-term use
and will be removed after the war
in accordance with legislation re-
quested and secured from Congress
hv tho MIA