An apartment residence for low income senior citizens is being proposed by a group of local businessmen for lots on the southwest corner of DeBaliviere and DeGiverville, between DeGiverville and the railroad right-of-way. Drawings of the proposed structure were shown to residents of the 5700 block of DeGiverville by Byron Tompras, owner of Garavelli’s Restaurant. Plans must also be approved by the City Plan Commission and the Board of Aldermen.
The structure would be a turnkey project, built by private interests and turned over to the federal government upon completion. As planned the building would be ten stories tall, 55 feet deep, and would contain 140 one-bedroom units. No cooking facilities are provided in the apartments, but a kitchen-dining room for residents will occupy the tenth floor.
Contractor of the project will be Pantheon Industries, headed by Leon Strauss. Management will be by Council Plaza.
A number of objections have been raised by local residents who questioned the suitability of a busy intersection as a location for the elderly. Others complained of adding to the density of population in the area, without providing any open space outdoors for residents. Another group felt that since this would be the sixth senior citizens residence between Spring and the City limits in the central corridor along Lindell and the surrounding blocks, a saturation point might be reached in housing for the elderly and the buildings used in the future by the federal government as public housing projects. Several local residents expressed concern that the Skinker-DeBaliviere area had already reached a saturation point in publicly-assisted housing.
The Skinker-DeBaliviere Community Council voted to approve the high-rise turnkey project to be constructed on DeBaliviere for elderly tenants. The Council approved the project with one stipulation — that the project managers provide appropriate assurances and mechanisms to assure that the building tenants will be racially integrated.
Originally published in The Paper, October–November 1972.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1972_10.pdf, printed page 1.
