Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-09-13

ceded that it was impractical for
housing TO be built in the South
west at the old SIT per room per
month rental figure,
Toword q Prestige Areo
The fourth major factor is a
slow development Of the idea that
the Southwest might be something
better than a modest slum clear,
ance area. The idea has grown
that perhaps the Southwest could
become a major prestige" area.
Turing higher-income families back
from the suburbs. increasing mu-
nicipal tax revenues to a substan-
tial degree and becoming one Of
the major attractions Of the
Capital.
The germ Of this idea came in
plan drawn by Washington
architects Louis Justement and
Chloethiel Smith in 1852. which
proposed a sharp upgrading. It
got its heaviest impetus, however,
in 1854, when William Zeckendorf
proposed to participate financially
in a plan which picked UP many
elements Of the Justement-Smit
scheme.
Before Mr.. Zeckendorf," Mr..
Searles said, there was Just talk.
But he stimulated an interest in
the possibilities Of the land which
was the greatest demonstration to
the people Of Washington that
the Southwest was a desirable
area which could become q great
asset, not just a backwash."
Mrs. Smith, now architect for
Scheuer-Steveps. the syndicate
which is redeveloping Area B.
argued that the Southwest, as a
strategically located downtown
area, is too valuable to the city"
to be used dominantly as a low
cost housing section.
very little Of the Northwest
section will ever be as valuable,
and much Of 1t can and should be
used for low-cost housing" she
contended. But the Southwest
never should be. The great OPP
portunity in the Southwest is to
try to create new high-value
downtown residential and COM
mercial values. Unless it is. we
believe that redevelopment will
fail"
Whot Con Be Marketed
Spokesman for private develop
ers in the Southwest, however.
contended that the private hous-
ing now contemplated is not ''lux-
ury" housing but is being deter
mined largely by the practical
realities" Of what can be mar
keted.
For example. they said, the new
Capital Park Apartment at Fourth
and H streets S.W., the first new
construction to be built in the
Southwest. is competitive in rents
with the lowest new elevator air
conditioned apartments in the
city. Yet its real estate taxes,
RIA said, will alone produce more
real estate revenues to the Dis
trict than did all the property in
the 80-acre Area B project before
the program was started. The
Capital Park structure has 400
units, ranging from efficiencies to
two-bedroom units, with rents
from 500 to 5000 a month. Pres
ent plans for Area B call for
about 1000 more apartment units
in a comparable rental range and
$50 two and three bedroom air.
conditioned row houses which are
planned to rent from $3.50 to $685.
a month.
Webb g. Knapp, which is nego-
tiating to build about half the
housing units in Area c, expects
to begin this fan on two apart
ment houses which will have a
rental range from $105 to 1920
a month, according to William L.
Slayton, chief of the firms WASH
ington office. About half of Webb
g. Knapp's housing, he said. will
be in two and three story row
town houses" which are planned
to be sold for $4,000 and $4,000
each.