Evening star., 1955-01-14

Ien-Year Program
Seen Bringing New
Revenue 10 District
tcontinued Prom First Pageo

3 W. T. -
suburban living but that 1t has
also been influenced by the de-
teriorating environment in the
older sections of the city. The
remarkably successful rehabili-
tation Of Georgetown and the
more recent evidence of similar
upgrading in the Capitol Hill
area and in Foggy Bottom DEM
onstrate strong market for In
town housing among middle,
income and higher-income
Washington families. This mar
ket constitutes q tremendous OPP
portunity for the city and should
be developed to the full poten-
tial by careful replanning Of se-
lected areas suitable for up
grading. az
Include Most Bad Housing.
The Ii areas recommended for
renewal in this report contain
approximately rs per cent Of the
substandard housing in the Dis
trict Of Columbia, on the basis
of the 1850 housing census sta
tistics. The renewal of those
areas would eliminate the con-
centrated stretches of blight in
the National Capital. The bal
ance of the substandard housing
is highly scattered and can be
corrected through effective en-
forcement of strong housing and
building codes, supported by the
operations of the Board for the
Condemnation Of Unsanitary
Dwellings.
The relocation load which q
10-year renewal program would
generate is within manageable
dimensions. The IL proposed
renewal areas contained approx
mately $4,000 dwelling units in
1850. or slightly more than one
fourth of the total supply in, the
District of Columbia. The urban
renewal program would salvage
and rehabilitate a majority OF
these dwellings.
The family displacement In
these areas would be caused by
demolition of non-salvable struc-
lures, by acquisition Of sites for
public facilities or for more de-
sirable land uses, by enforcement
of occupancy controls. and by
substantial rehabilitation neces-
stating the removal of present
occupants or resulting in in
creased rents above their rent
paying ability. It is reasonable
to assume that family displace-
ment from all the above causes
would in no event exceed the
number of substandard dwell
ings in these areas.
This totaled approximately
10000 in the 1850 Housing Cen
sus. The reasonableness of this
assumption is supported by the
expectation that many of the
5suhstandafd dwellings will prove
to be salvable through rehabili-
tation and will not be demoi-
ished. On the basis of this
assumption. the average annual
relocation load over a 10-year
period would not exceed 1000
families or about I65 per month.
It is estimated that there are in
excess of 10000 family moves
per year in the Washington area.
Urban renewal would thus add
only about 3 per cent to this
activity. With effective utiliza-
ton of the housing supply botI1
within and without the urban
renewal areas including the low
rent public housing, this reloca-
ton load could be handled
humanely and in accordance
with the relocation requirements
Of Federal and local law.
Cost Held Reasonable.
The public cost of a 10-Year
program for the renewal of the
blighted areas of the District
of Columbia also would be within
reasonable and attainable limits
when measured against the
urgency OF the slum problem and
the benefits to be derived by the
community from its solution.
While close estimates of that
cost will be possible only after
extensive surveys and actual ex-
perience under the program,
rough estimates can be developed
from the cost experience in
the Southwest redevelopment
projects.
In the Southwest area the
total renewal cost is estimated
to be approximately $7.l00 per
dwelling unit acquired. If 1t Is
assumed that the number Of
dwelling units acquired for all
purposes in the other 10 renewal
areas equals the number Of sub
standard units 10000 in those
areas and that the cost of re-
newal win be the same as in
Southwest ($7.100) then the cost
of renewal in the 10 acres will be
STA million. The estimated cost
Of renewal in the Southwest is
$40 million: making a total esti-
mated cost Of s154 million for
all eleven renewal areas.
However. because it is anti
cipated that renewal costs may
run somewhat higher in the re-
naming 10 areas than in South
west. the overall estimate for the
10-year program has been
rounded out at what would ap-
pear TO be an outside figure Of
5000 million.
Under Title of the Housing
Act of 1949, as amended. this
public cost void be shared UP to
two-thirds by the Federal Gov
ernment and one-third by the
District Of Columbia. The Dis
trict Of Columbia's contribution
to these projects under Title l
would be made primarily. If not
entirely. through the installation
or improvement OF public faci-
lities such as streets and high
ways. schools. public utilities,