Historical Note
The Washington State Legislature adopted what was known as the Urban
Renewal Law in 1957. Shortly afterwards, Seattle City Council adopted ordinance
declaring that "blighted areas" existed in the City of Seattle, as defined by
the State law. In 1958 the Mayor announced the appointment of Talbot Wegg as
Urban Renewal Coordinator for the City of Seattle. The first Citizens' Advisory
Committee on Urban Renewal met in 1958. By August the group was known as the
Seattle Urban Renewal Enterprise or SURE. Its goal was to promote fundraising
and increase awareness in the community about housing deterioration and neglect
especially where those elements affect the health, safety and well-being of the
community. Focus on rehabilitation and conservation. A non-profit corporation
was formed in November 1958.
SURE was structured with a Board of Trustees and an Executive Council.
Presidents of the Board included Kenneth B. Colman, Walter T. Funk 1961, John
L. Wright, 1962-1963, Cal M. McCune, 1963-1964, Donald S. Voorhees, 1964-1965.
Lyman Black was appointed president of SURE in March 1965. Annual meetings were
held in March.
Ray Baker was hired as Executive Director of SURE in June 1959. Baker
was the former Director of the Jackson Street Community Council. Baker resigned
in April 1962 due to financial difficulties of SURE. SURE was funded by
membership fees and contributions from firms and individuals. Struggling
financially, SURE staff were released later in 1962. SURE carried a debt of
about $4,000. Mayor Clinton appointed City staff member David Towne of the
Office of Urban Renewal as Executive Director.
Throughout its existence, SURE worked closely with the City's Office of
Urban Renewal. Talbot Wegg, the first coordinator, resigned in 1963 and was
followed by Director John P. Willison. SURE shared office space with the Office
of Urban Renewal after it lost its staff in 1962.
SURE was successful in gathering community support, revising the housing
code, and initiating federal support for urban renewal projects. SURE was
involved in many projects including: the Yesler-Atlantic Urban Renewal Project;
the Workable Program, the South Seattle Redevelopment Project, the Community
Renewal Program and Cherry Hill. SURE contracted with the City of Seattle to
provide advice and counsel to property owners and community organizations and
gave a voice to urban renewal in Seattle.
Content Description
The records of the Seattle Urban Renewal Enterprise (SURE) are organized
into two subseries: Administrative and Committees and Projects. The
Administrative Records provide good summaries of SURE activities through annual
reports and minutes. The Committee and Project Files present the range of
activities, primarily identified by their geographic area, in which SURE was
involved.
Within the Administrative records are annual reports, Board minutes and
Council minutes, providing the researcher with goals, discussions, and issues
facing SURE. In addition to minutes and annual reports, the news releases and
news letters provide a good overview of SURE activities. Although SURE
identified projects that would be good targets for urban renewal funds, the
federal applications had to be approved and written through the City.
Communication with City officials regarding urban renewal work can be found in
the Administrative subseries.
The Committees and Project Subseries contains records on specific
projects in which SURE was involved. The Committee records include committee
members, correspondence, newsletters and timelines. The Project files
complement the committee records, including correspondence, maps, notices and
other project materials. Work with neighborhood councils is reflected here.
Among the first SURE projects was the Yesler Atlantic Project, approved
for funding by the federal government in December 1959. The City received funds
for survey and planning and for a new junior high school. SURE formed the
Yesler-Atlantic Citizens' Conference in 1960 and sponsored clean-up projects,
published a newspaper, and provided labor assistance for home owners in need of
remodeling or repairs. Within the Yesler Atlantic neighborhood, one of SURE's
early projects was a "demonstration house" at 114 21st Ave. It was remodeled
and used for SURE offices from 1959 to 1960, demonstrating the value of urban
renewal in upgrading and improving existing homes. The largest volume of
records in Committees and Projects relate to the Yesler Atlantic project. Other
SURE projects reflected in the records include: Cherry Hill, Leschi, University
Addition-First Hill and University Addition-Northlake.
