Evening star., 1960-02-03
RLAApproves Plan
Of Bui|derItChided
d Apartments
Proposed in
Southwest
BY ALFRED ALIBRANDO
Star Stan Writer


was sternly chided last week
for delays in fulfilling a con-
tract to build a large apartment
and town house project in
Southwest Washington, today
presented a plan for four large
elevator apartment houses.
Mrs. Chloethiel Smith. ar
chitect for Scheuer and Stev-
ems, presented the plan to the
District Redevelopment Land
Agency, which quickly ap-
proved it.
The agency last week wrote
a letter to Scheuer and Stevens,
threatening to take the project
away from the firm unless it
could show a willingness and
ability to proceed quickly with
plans and construction.
The slum cleared land in
volved is the so called Area
B between Half and Fourth
streets and between I street
and the Southwest freeway.
One Building Up
The Scheuer Stevens firm
has built only one apartment
house - the 400-unit Capitol
Park Apartments - since it
signed the lease with RIA for
Area B in 1856. The overall
plan calls for $50 additional
apartment units and $50 row
and town houses.
In the plan approved by the
RIA today, the first of the four
apartment houses
would be built just north of the
Capitol Park Apartments, at
Fourth and G streets S.W. Two
others would be built east of
this apartment, between what
is now G street and the South
west freeway.
The fourth new apartment
house also would be east of the
Capitol Park building. between
Second and Third streets Just
north Of I street. All four
would be eight-story elevator
buildings.
Mrs. Smith. who has been
called the architects archi-
tect." said all four were placed
to provide good views of the
Capitol and the surrounding
area.
Houses Located
The plan also showed the
proposed location of the town
houses, on which construction
has been scheduled to begin
early this year. The first group
OF 30 is to be built just east
OF the Capitol Park Apart
The second group of
town houses would be Just
south of G street, between
Second and Third streets.
All Of these town or row
houses probably will be rental
or lease units. However, an
other section, to be built be-
tween Half and Second streets
and between H street and the
freeway, will be sale units, Mrs.
said.
The plan would completely
change the street arrangement
IN the area. G street would
be closed from Half to Third
A section from Fourth
street to the present Third
street would remain a public
thoroughfare but would ter
inmate at Third in a park:
like cul-de-sac.
Third street would be closed.
The total effect would be to
remove most of the through
traffic from the area and pro-
vide only private drives and
parking for residents.
Approval Awaited
The Scheuer-S Stevens firm is
now awaiting final approval by
the Federal Housing Admins
tration of the first group Of
town houses. James Scheuer
said applications would be SUBJ
for the other sections,
including the apartment houses,
this spring.
Mrs. Smith told the RIA the
project was being broken into
relatively small segments for
financing purposes. This could
speed up approval of the plans,
RIA officials said.
The RIA also authorized,
after public hearings at which
there were no objections, execu-
ton of contracts with the
Phillips and Gulf Oil COM
panies for lease of gasoline sta
tion sites at Fourth and E