Housing Pact's Approval By Haa Believed Near

Housing Commission ChairI man Robert P. Weeks voiced I strong optimism this morning I that a contract for building 127 I public housing units on eight 1 sites in Ann Arbor will finally I be signed sometime today by I William Bergeron, regional director for the federal Housing Assistance Administration (HAA). Furthermore, Weeks said he is now virtually certain that a ninth site, which was deleted from the program last Saturday, will be obtained by the Housing Commission in time for work to start there this summer. Weeks was contacted by phone at HAA offices in Chicago, where he and Chief Assistant City Attorney Fred S. Steingold have been since yesterday morning. They had expected to return yesterday with the contract approved. Weeks declared this morning that "I'm simply not coming home until it's signed." He said HAA officials raised 44 "technical" objections to wording of the contract, which was approved by Ann Arbor officials late last month. All 44 have been examined and rephrased, making HAA approval of the contract today appear certain, he ádded. In regard to a site between Winewood and Thaler, deleted from the local program in a City Council meeting closed tó the press and public last Saturday, Weeks said: "It may be obtained within a month or six weeks." He attributed this possibility 7 to "further research" by attorney J. James Hiller, who has been representing the Housing Commission in site acquisitions. An amendment to the contract Weeks expects to see signed today would be necessary to insert the Winewood-Thaler site back into the program. Weeks said today that HAA officials have assured him that $385,018.12 t h ey previously authorized for purchase and construction of that site will be "reserved for Ann Arbor for a reasonable amount of time." Twenty-four public housing units, in the forfn of duplexes, had been planned at WinewoodThaler. Weeks said details of the new arrangement for obtaining the site cannot be made public yet. An arrangement proposed last week by the Housing Commission called for an appropriation of about $7,000 in local money to supplement a purchasepriceof $23,500 approved byHAA. Weeks expressed doubt today City Council will again be asked to provide local money to obtain the site. He spoke less optimistically about another of the commission's sites, at W. Washington and S. Seventh, where soil borings taken after the site was purchased from the city have revealed a need for special foundations - pilings- that will cost about $32,000. The possibility of even higher extra costs developing and forcing abandonment of that site cannot be ruled out, he declared. The same possibility was raised by former Housing Commission Chairman Lyndon Welch shortly before he left office. Ten u n i t s for t h e e 1 d e r 1 y are planned at that site. At last night's City Council meeting, First Ward Councilman Richard D. Remington suggested that if the WinewoodThaler site is lost from the program, new plans should be made so the Housing ' sion can build 12 units, instead of six as presently planned, on a site at Washtenaw and Glenwood. Original plans called for 12 units at Washtenaw-Glenwood, but the number was reduced as a result of unfavorable soil borings. Remington made his suggestion before Weeks announced that new developments make loss of Winewood-Thaler appear less likely. Housing Director Mrs. Joseph D. Mhoon was unable to take part in the negotiations in Chicago, as planned, because of a serious illness in her family. There are 178 two-bedroom units, 118 three-bedroom units and eight four bedroom units, all in two story buildings and each with a full basement. The development's 46 one-bedroom units are housed in onestory buildings. "The townhouses are clustered near paved parking areas and give most units a beautiful view of the city or adjoining Leslie Park, a municipally owned golf course," Varian said. "Aesthetics were very, very important to the members of AACD," Darrow said. "We were committed to preserving the natural features of the site and upholding the privacy of people over automobiles." "Obviously, Pontiac Heights will not solve all of Ann Arbor's housing problema, because there are many famiÜDo who will not be able to afford to live there. Low income families are eligióle for other programs within the city," Varian said. Because financing was personal loans, thcn loaned the money to AACD. "They pledged the money in their accounts and even the money in their children's accounts to secure the loan," Darrow said. After the annexation and zoning, AACD asked FCH Services, Inc. to assist with the final development work. "They brought an expertise that has and is continuing to be very useful to us," Darrow said. FCH Services is a nonprofit subsidiary of the Foundation for Cooperative Housing. It has provided development, marketing and