Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-02-16
Urban Renewal Job
Challenged in Court
Suit Hits Work
In GNU Area
OF Foggy Bottom,

Of Foggy Bottom
A group Of property owners
asked a Federal court today to
overturn the District Commits
sioners' designation of a large
section of Foggy Bottom as an
official city urban renewal"
project.
The court suit challenged the
city heads authority to set up
the so-called George Washing
ton University renewal" area
a large section lying south OF
Pennsylvania avenue NV. be-
tween Nineteenth street and the
Potomac River.
1t was the first court action
brought here against urban re-
newal," a new concept in city
improvement authorized by Con-
greSs two years ago.
Upheld by High Court
The same type Of action was
brought several years ago by
Southwest Washington property
owners and fought all the way
to the Supreme Court against
urban redevelopment." The
high court finally upheld rede-
yeIopment, in which entire areas
are cleared and sold to private
for rebuilding. urban
renewal is a less drastic form
|of Improvement. which does not
contemplate the clearance Of
whole areas.
The suit was fled by six own
ers of property in the block
bounded by Virginia avenue and
q, F, Twenty-fourth and
Twenty-fift streets NV.
The property owners said they
recently had bought the prop
|erty for about 100000 to build
"a multi-million- dollar structure
|. in keeping with beautiful
buildings projected by other
private owners such as Peoples
Life Insurance Co. and Potomac
Plaza in the area"
See GNU Expansion
The plaintiffs contended that
the Commissioners purposes in
setting up the renewal area
were for "slum clearance" and
Ito acquire land for the expan-
sion of the George Washington
University.
They alleged the action was
I"confiscatory. arbitrary. unjust.
discriminatory and unlawful for
the following reasons:
/. It attempts to use legisla-
ition devised for ''blighted areas"
lin a section where more than
800 parcels of land have been
bought and sold for private
development at an increase
lin value"
2. More than half the area.
in violation of the act. is either
open ground or property already
slated for improvement.
3. The right Of eminent do
main would be used to take pri-
vate property for GNU.
4. The Commissioners desig-
mated the area without having Q
public hearing on the action.
5. The action has ''irreparably
diminished" value of the private
property because of the COM
mon knowledge that such a
designation brings with it a
stagnation of the area for any
private development and inn
iprovement because it deters in
Ivestment capital. :"
! Hats Development Plans
| The property owners contend
ed the designation would hold
off their development plans for
an indefinite period of time, esti-
mated at 10 years or more"
They asked District Court to
issue Cd a temporary restraining
order hating any progress on the
project and Cd a permanent in
junction after hearing argu-
ments on the merits of the COM
Iplaint.
District officials-without hav-
ling seen the suit--have con.
tended previously that their ac-
Itions were completely legal.
They have maintained that the
action would not halt private
development and that the prof.
Iect's main purpose was to permit
an orderly planning of the
AREA.
GNU officials have told the
city heads that they would like
to acquire a substantial portion
Iof the area between Nineteenth
land Twenty-third streets. how
ever, for future expansion. Any
such land would have to be &C
CURED by the city redevelopment
agency and sold to the university.
Protest Meeting Set
The property owners who
brought the suit were Isadore M.
Harry and Homer Gudelsky,
Jerome and Eugene Scheffres
and Mrs. Lillian Scheffres Tur-
iner. 1t was filed by Attorneys
William T. Hannah and H. Max
zimmerman.
Alarger group of property
owners fighting the project have
called a mass protest meeting
for 8 o'clock tonight at I'LL e
street NV.
Yesterday the District Board
lof Zoning Adjustment also took
under advisement a request to
permit parking facilities on
property from $40 to 826 New
Hampshire avenue NV. - near
the land involved in the court
suit. The coming request was
lStrnnolV nnnnSad by a prnlln of