In Shaw (an historically gentrified blog)

SSURA history

SSURA-Shaw Urban Renewal Area
I've been tearing up the house trying to find an eyeglass perscription among the piles of paper that litter my house. One of the piles was 'neighborhood history that I'll blog about at some point'. As I wait for a bunch of podcasts to download, I'll type out this find. It is a transcript from the National Capital Planning Commission's Executive session March 3, 1966, starting around page 42:

Chairman Rowe
Now we get to this review, Mr. Conrad, of the proposed urban renewal area in the Second Precinct around the Shaw School. Would you give us the background.
(Mr. Roberts departed the meeting at 4:55 o'clock p.m.)
ITEM NO. 4- SHAW SCHOOL URBAN RENEWAL AREA
MR. CONRAD: In 1958 the staff prepared a general neighborhood renewal plan in the Second Precinct area which is about the same area as you see encompassed by the red line on the map on the board which was 14th Street to the west, Florida Avenue to the north, North Capitol Street to the east and then down to Massachusetts Avenue and 10th Street on the south.
This is a rather large area. It contains about, oh, I believe nine to 12 projects that were supposed to be done over a period of ten years but were very limited when we went into the study of this area.
We were limited because of the housing tools that were available at that time. We were also restricted because of the high cost of rehabilitation and no write down to the process of urban renewal at that time. We were also restricted because there was very little citizen interest in this area.
As a result the large area was cut down to what the Commission knows as Northwest Number One which is about a 76-acre project which we have approved and which the Redevelopment Land Agency now is carrying out.
Since 1958 there have been quite a few changes. It is possible to get write down on rehabilitation. There is the 221-d-3 moderate cost housing, relocation housing. There are new forms of public housing which we have. The President is coming up with a demonstration city where we should get larger areas in order to be able to stage the development. Also the Shaw School has come into its own as a need and the President has also pointed out the examples where we should take schools and make them examples for other cities and this is a wonderful location to do it.
So last week Mrs. Rowe, three District Commissioners, Walter Washington, the staff and also some citizens from this area got together and now the citizens are asking for public help to do something with their area.
Reverend Fauntroy was there representing the area as well as Mr. and Mrs. -- was that Lawson?
CHAIRMAN ROWE: Judge Lawson.
MR. CONRAD: Judge Lawson. They feel that the citizens are ready for this and they are looking for help from the proper public bodies.
We are working with D.C. on this as well as the Redevelopment Land Agency and we propose to come back to the Commission at its next meeting in April with specific boundary lines for approval so that we can go in for planning advances to at least study this area for urban renewal.

There is more but this was long enough and the keys on my keyboard get kind of sticky.

Labels: neighborhood history, SSURA

posted by Mari @ 5.3.09