Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1944-04-17
|IhIde Ct AssaiIs
High Rents Of
Private HOUSING
Says Need Is for
Lower Fees and
Lurger Quarters

Larger Quarters
If private builders are to help La
solving the Districts Stun problem,
they must build a greater portion
|of their housing for large families
and charge lower rents than they
have In the past, John Ihlder, execu-
tive of1icef OF the National Capital
Housing Authority. today told the
Senate subcommittee studying nous.
ing conditions here.
Mr.. Ihlder said that tentative
rents for 5000 housing units for
which private builders here already
hold construction priorities range
from $35 to SOS month. More
than half the dwellings win rent
for SIS to $50 month and 982
units will be priced at $50 to SIS.
This rental scale must be "dras-
tically altered" if the proposed
dwellings are to fulfill their purpose.
Mr.. Ihlder said. The great need
here at present, he said, is for good
dwellings at moderate rentals" into
which tenants of NCHA develop.
ments can be graduated" when
they can afford to pay more than
the subsidized rentals Of the public
housing projects.
Low Figures Set.
Mr.. Ihlder testified that housing
must be provided at rents ranging
from less than $40 through S25. sal
and $37.50 per month, il present
Stun jewellers are to be given new
housing that will cost no more than
one-quarter of their monthly income.
NCHA studies have shown that n
typical group of 100 Stun dwelling
families would include as families
with annual incomes Of $1,000 or
less, 70 with incomes between 81 900
and $500 and only i've with In.
comes over 1890, he said.
Mr.. Ihlder said he does not doubt
that II materials are available pri-
vate builders here can construct the
$4,000 low-rent housing units they
have promised to build within .
six-year period provided their slum
reclamation plan is adopted.
But, he said, There is q Question,
whether the tenants would be for
mer slum dwellers."
The new commitments of the pri.
vate builders should include a def.
mite. promise that rooms in these
housing units will be of adequate
size and that enough large units win
be constructed to provide for good.
sized families, he said.
Suggests Ratio Of Rooms. 81
Mr.. 1hlder suggested that 10 per
cent OF the units should be the one.
bedroom type, IS per cent two bed.
rooms, Is per cent three bedrooms
and 10 per cent four bedrooms.
In the past, he told the subcom.
mittee, private builders have. con-
centrated on providing one-bed-
room units. The only specific new
proposal by private builders so far
has been for construction of 10 two
bedroom dwellings to rent at $35
a month, he said
/ The first step toward slum recla-
mation, Mr.. Ihlder pointed out, is
the construction of new houses on
vacant or sparsely occupied sites. so
that present slum jewellers will l1ave
some place to live when their houses
are being demolished.
The private builders can begin
now to provide housing for the sur.
plus slum population by building on
vacant land with priorities they al.
ready hold. he told the subcom-
mittee. He pointed out that there
are 1890 acres of "buildable land"
IN the District, much of it in colored
areas. "a
Other witnesses today included
Mrs. Olive Swinney, assistant for
management to the NCHA executive
officer, and Franklin Thorne, in
charge of management for NCHAs
colored properties.
Mrs. Swinney replied to a charge
made several weeks ago by N. c.
Hines, executive secretary of the
Washington Home Builders Associa-
ton. Mr.. Hines had presented 40
photographs to show that many
NCHA tenants formerly lived in
housing that was not suhstandard.
She gave reasons why all 40 fam
lilies were accepted as tenants, ex-
planning that in many cases the
persons were living in outwardly
presentable houses but under greatly
lovercrowded conditions.
Mr.. Thorne reviewed history OF
the trailer camp established by
NCHA when numerous families lost
their homes due to construction Of
buildings at the Navy Yard.