[Greensboro Redevelopment Commission scrapbook #2]

              A12Gr*n
,, Sal., Ma«h  20,  lS7f
GAO Finds No Fault
With Property Sale
BY STAN SWOFFORD
The General Accbunting Office, alter a two-month
.
bv Ihe Greensboro Redevelopment Com miss, inn ■ ■ "—
'- A Hecord, Friday —
bid below the eslablL.-hi!,l fair re u;f value ol the prop--
erty. occurred with the knowledge and approval of bolh
the Greensboro and Washington offices ol the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Sen. Morgan in a statement issued Friday alier Ihe
GAO briefing, said he was "satisfied thai the circum-
--.■■■
normal and within Ihe hounds of reason "
Morgan's statement continued: "There is no evidence of intent to defraud or take advantage ol the tan-
pavers. While some deviations in following established
-k at the fai
re-usc value of the property. ftc|olalit">s rail for orations from .Mo independent appraisers.
sold the property with only one appr;
According to the GAO im
248, despite the lair re-use value ol SaS.i.f.M. hei
Hie land had been offered for sale otw a long pern
lime, and because further costs oi keepine th,- land
probably would nullify any possibility of recouping
■ii established, ill :
lijrklcv,  3 itni
neighborhood improve
 id this
:loscs the matter as lar as ne is concerned.
0 invesligalors Sehaslian Correira Jr. and John
' it was described as an "in-depth, personal
report to sen. Morgan, said it would be "a matter of
i-onjet-ltire" and fur Hit: t-ouris lo decide whether any
law was violated in the transaction.
The GAO investigators also said that they had
: on the part ol the Greens-
n acquiring the properly.
luiltord County Commissioner and Stale Republi-
n ior -t-LI-r.iJ ihe property to
found "very lillll
boro Board of E
Redevelopment impresses pair VisitorsImpressed
Jim Tunison and Pam Daoust le
need to see neighborhood improven
programs that worked, so they cam
Greensboro.
tor for NIFTl, after Robcrl BarHej Sn.-
eculive direcior of the Greensboro
Redevelopment Commission, had taken
a       Ihe two on a lour of redevelopment and
nt       community development projecls.
to NIFTI Is a unique organization. Ms.
Daousl. a former city council member
of       herself, described it as "a burr under the
il used a youth corps lo        Mi„ develop-,--. £
Ms. Daoust. who is "interested mosllv
in neighhorhoods." confessed Toledo has
been "good at demolition bul not loo
Ulceus in] at redevelopment." Large
; ,,n' despite the lact Toledo,
■ ■■,-:■.•  lias received
k improvements. "They d
Greensboro's, Tunison
"We have 3.000 u
need demolishing
Toledo's core area is
'   cve» more lhan
noted.
»   Sal
I
sources. In Ihe la.,i lew months, it lias The problem has been in Retting de-
accepted some federal emergency em- velopers interested." she explained
ployment lunds. usins wcrkers lured in -..ken developers have come lorth, the
: kjings hi the whole project gets bogged down in poli-
lt"^J.v,-
Litter, in general, plagues many areas
f the city,
"I am impressed with the residential
:ieet..." Ms. Daoust said. "You'd never
now they were redevelopment streels."
'What you take care of routinely
■
d in a financial
re before returning to Tok
No evidence ilnk
, price too low
Iking aboul must be on a
hat was seen in Cumberland Redevel-
iment Project nearly 20 years ago. Lit-
c Mtcntion has been given preservation
' older neighborhoods.
The situation, they feci, stems Irom a
ck of cooperation and understanding
"""'is groups, including city
Approval conditional
for Bennett Homes
The General Aceounling Oifice lound
no evidence ihe Soulh Davie Slreet urban renewal property The Greensboro
Record and Daily Newt purchased
would have brought any greater price
:J ror it. Sen. Robert
than the firm paid f(
Morgan, D-Pl. t. disc
■
nins. Sen.
(1 II:- in
quin- ..inducted by the ai,
-■     ■
failure to follow the guidelines of Housing and Urban Development Deparl-
■   . :.
■   ■■ : ■
had been advertised i-.i:-.i.;,;iv lor sale
ment said her office found no laws were
.lolaied in the sale by the Greensboro
Redevelopment Commission of the 4.3
acres ol urban renewal land to Ihe newspaper company.
She continued, however, the depart-
-.illustrative procedures re
in in- [imperii- liad been
■     .
Kven il offers hat: been made by the
Board of Kducation, it would have re-
nuired a revamping of Ihe urban renew
Senalor Morgan said he was
Ms. Daousl hopes MFTI can [ill an
,'.lvoiai-y role lo brine Slivernment and
•'■■■-
ing a 34-block study program at Ihe edge
"We hope lo ect developers ii-.lirc.Jed
' ind in the tin i- It nice ini I .in,'.. ' sbc
said. "N1FT1 is working on a nine pciinl
program lor reMtaliiation t-i older neigh-
Greensboro '
Included would be code enforcement,
Toledo. Improvement'of
the miles of alleys, something Greensboro has few of. would be sought. These
alleys, usually unkchtcd. many unpaved,
serve as depositories ior trash and car-
nett Homes, a rent-subsidy bous-
ivelopment proposed by the Great-
" "using FoundaUon, was
proved today by tl
--a'.-
in Developmenl, if
. using and Ur
number of units a an.
" Richard Barnwell, state HUD direcior,
said the 130 units, proposed fora 13-acre
Irac. a: Washington and Bennett Streets
in Washington Redevelopment Project
No 2, would create too great a density
at the locabon. He said the project ii approved contingent upon the number of
units being reduced to 75.
The project is designated for general
occupancy. Greensboro is allocated 150
units of renl-subsidy housing in this cate-
sory under the federal program, titled
Section 8. Since other proposals for general occupancy here failed to gain approval. Barnwell said HUD will
i,,,r'
....
ii,.-.: to mM the requirements of HI'D.
Lfie cost had been estimated
"probably (1.5 million." He said bow
■   ^portioned will avail a
sludy of the project.
The original plans called for one-bed-
capped and two-and-ihree-bedroom
apartments for families. Can- said some
of each will be retained in the revised
St. Matthews Methodist Church, Ben-
ett College and other nearby churches
re expected to afford resources and ser-
S595.G00. lor HSI.248 concludes the in-
uiry as far as the senator is concerned,
e indicated.
liesaid the GAD :,-pi-
law. ■
"All lhat is left is for the formal writ-
en report to be handed down and that
sually lakes about two months." he
Earlier, Secretary Carla Hills of Hous-
ig and Urban Development Depart-
. was touched o
plaint by Diui ■
■-..:.-      : .:::..:.   ■   '-,
party, who questioned the
tin l.ic piopi'ity' ami pointed