SECTION 1 REVIEW OF THE URBAN RENEWAL PROGRAM An increased tempo of urban renewal activity in communities throughout the Nation highlighted 1955, the first full year of operations under the Housing Act of 1954, which had sharply expanded Title I of the Housing Act of 1949. Outstanding among the evidences of stepped-up local activities were these developments: More than 6 times as much Federal capital grant funds-$176.5 million-were reserved for specific local urban renewal projects in 1955 as had been set aside in 1954; about 9 times more as in 1953. More than one-third again as many initial applications from local communities for Federal funds for the planning of projects were approved as in either 1954 or 1953. The half-billion dollars in capital grant funds originally authorized by the Housing Act of 1949 were exhausted by commitment to local projects by the end of July. (An additional half-billion dollars were authorized by the Housing Amendments of 1955.) Demonstrating the broad-scale approach to urban renewal embodied in the 1954 Act, 9 projects involving rehabilitation received approval of Federal planning advances, while many other applications were in preparation at the end of the year. URBAN RENEWAL AIDS There is no question that this stepping up of local urban renewal programs was directly due to passage of the Housing Act of 1954. This Act, essentially, assists communities not only to eradicate but also to prevent slums and blight. In passing the Act, the Congress indicated that clearance of wornout structures alone was not enough, but strong measures for the prevention of slums and removal of the causes of blight are necessary if American communities are to renew themselves. In this expanded approach to urban renewal, the 1954 Act continued the types of financial aid made available to communities by Title I of the Housing Act of 1949-planning advances, loans, and grants—and added the following types of assistance: The Urban Renewal Service. Special Grants for Urban Planning Assistance. Special Provisions for FHA Mortgage Insurance under Section 220 for new building or rehabilitation of homes in urban renewal areas. Special Provisions for FHA Mortgage Insurance under Section 221 to provide low-cost housing for families displaced from urban renewal areas. Provisions for additional Public Housing. With the exception of mortgage insurance and public housing aids, urban renewal assistance is administered by the Urban Renewal Administration, a constituent unit of the Housing and Home Finance Agency, headed by Commissioner J. W. Follin. The above mentioned aids are described on page xxiii. DECENTRALIZATION The expanded urban renewal program contained in the Housing Act of 1954 increased the need for close coordination of the activities and programs of the HHFA. To accomplish this, as well as to afford quicker and better service to communities participating in the program, the slum-clearance and urban renewal program was decentralized to the HHFA regional offices. The URA, in January, transferred many of its personnel from Washington to the six Regional Offices of the Housing and Home Finance Agency (see p. 25) distributed throughout the Nation along geographic lines and to the Puerto Rico Field Office. Transferred personnel included, primarily, mem. bers of the four deactivated "Area Offices," which had functioned from Washington as a base. Additional personnel were recruited to supplement the staffs of the decentralized offices, which opened for business in the various cities on January 17, headed by "Regional Directors of Urban Renewal.” OPERATIONS SECTION 2 ACTIVITY Project Progress The end of 1955 found a total of 340 urban renewal projects approved for Federal assistance, as compared to 279 a year earlier. These projects are located in 218 communities, an increase of 30 over the end of 1954. The 218 communities are in 29 States, the District of Columbia, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. URA approved 23 project execution activities during 1955, bringing to 110 the total number of projects for which cities had been authorized to start the assembly and clearance of land and other activities-the execution stage. Another 106 projects were in final planning at year's end, making a total of 216 projects categorized "well-advanced." An additional 124 projects were in preliminary planning. Capital grants approved and reserved for the 340 projects totaled almost $554 million, an increase of some $176.5 million over the 1954 total. Grants totaling about $185 million had been approved for 105 of the 110 projects in execution. Of the remaining 5 projects, 4 had been approved for site operations pending approval of a grant contract and one-consisting entirely of open land-was not eligible for a Federal grant. Temporary loans totaling $185 million had been approved for 82 of the 110 projects approved for execution. The remaining 28 projects are being financed with State and local funds and the localities have not asked for Federal loans. Funds for project expenditures had been borrowed under Title I loan contracts by 65 projects as of the close of 1955. For 26 of the projects, however, the Federal loan commitment was used as collateral to borrow in the private market at lower interest rates, as against 39 projects using funds borrowed from the Federal Government. URA had also approved planning advances totaling $21 million, an increase of almost 45 percent over the total at the end of 1954. OLD-LAW AND NEW-LAW PROJECTS Of the 340 projects, 266 were initiated and were being carried out under Title I of the Housing Act of 1949. The other 74 were new-law projects, proceeding under the 1954 Housing Act. Sixty of these were initiated after August 2, 1954, the effective date of the 1954 Act. The other 14 were initiated under the old law but had subsequently been converted to provi sions of the new. WORKABLE PROGRAM To be eligible for loan-and-grant assistance and Sections 220 and 221 FHA mortgage insurance for new-law projects, a community must have an HHFA-approved "workable program" (see p. 3) for dealing with slums and blight on a comprehensive basis. At the end of 1955, the Housing and Home Finance Administrator had approved workable programs for 80 communities. Nearly all of the cities with new-law projects have approved workable programs and the others will have such programs approved before applying for loan and grant contracts. Workable programs for another 86 cities were either being prepared or were in process of getting Federal approval. SECTIONS 220 AND 221 FHA MORTGAGE INSURANCE At the end of 1955, HHFA Administrator Cole had certified 35 of the total 340 projects to the Federal Housing Administration as eligible for Section 220 FHA mortgage insurance to aid private industry in the construction and redeveloping or rehabilitating of residential structures within proj ect areas. In addition, 12 cities had been certified for Section 221 mortgage insurance to aid builders in rehabilitating existing dwellings or constructing new dwellings to rehouse at low cost families displaced by slum-clearance operations or other official actions. Characteristics of the 216 Well-Advanced Projects The 216 well-advanced projects are mostly clearance projects and include some 8,000 blighted acres an area equivalent to Jersey City, N. J. These 8,000 acres involve more than 100,000 families and approximately 108,000 dwelling units, over 80 percent of which were classified substandard. As required by Federal law, these families will be offered relocation in decent, safe, and sanitary dwelling units at prices and rents within their means. Of the 216 projects, 194 originally were residential slums while 8 were blighted areas of other types. Twelve were predominantly open and two were completely open. Major reuse in 123 projects will be private residential, with 21 other projects scheduled for some private residential new use. Six projects will be devoted primarily to public housing use; nine will have some public housing. Most of these areas tabbed for residential reuse will show some nonresidential reuse, primarily supporting installations such as shopping centers, playgrounds, schools, parks, and public buildings. In 33 projects the major new use will be commercial, while the same type reuse will be secondary in 107 other projects. New industrial use will be the major factor in 34 projects; the secondary in 39. Some type of new public use will be primary in 18 projects, secondary in 70. Data for two projects was incomplete. Communities carrying out the 209 projects (of the 216) for which financial data was available will contribute about $161 million in local grants-in-aid as their share of net project costs, or losses. This amount is actually more than their required one-third of net project costs, estimated at almost $452 million. Federal capital grants, estimated at about $291 million, will make up the remainder of the net losses. Net project costs are the difference between the gross costs of carrying out the 209 projects— estimated at $676 million-and the proceeds from disposition of project land-estimated at $224 million. Local grants-in-aid will be furnished largely through demolition work, donations of land, construction of site improvements and supporting facilities, and supplemented, where needed, by cash. Data on Projects in Execution Data in the following categories refers to the 110 projects which have reached actual execution. (Information was not available for all projects in all categories.) LAND ACQUISITION.-Acquisition of land has begun in 88 projects and is complete in 38. Gross project costs of 105 projects authorized for Federal loan and grant contracts amount to about $398 million. Acquisition and disposition costs-estimated at $266.6 million-account for by far the largest part of gross project costs, about 67 percent. RELOCATION.-Relocation of families has begun in 87 projects and is complete in 25. More than 58,000 families will be displaced from 106 reporting projects. The cost of relocation for families in 105 projects reporting is estimated at $3.6 million, less than 1 percent of gross project costs. SITE IMPROVEMENTS.-Ninety projects were reported to involve site improvements. Of these, work has started in 19 and is complete in 9. All told, site improvements are expected to cost $31.6 million, about 8 percent of gross project costs. SUPPORTING FACILITIES.-These are planned for 76 projects. Work has begun in connection with 21 projects and is complete for 8. Costs of supporting facilities are expected to run to $34 million, 82 percent of gross project costs. LAND DISPOSITION.-Twenty-six projects show land disposition activity, with 14 complete. Disposition proceeds are expected to amount to $114 million for 105 projects reporting. Subtracting this figure from the gross |