Word: mutually
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Adequate Expense. Right away, State Mutual found itself immersed in controversy. Since it was determined to plan something new, the company could not announce just what it would build, so, Plumley recalls, "there was only an announcement that something would be destroyed." Blacks in the racially mixed area feared that the undescribed project would be limited to white tenants; whites feared that it would be limited to blacks. Community leaders began to charge that State Mutual was interested in profit rather than public service, since the company stood to make an 8.2% return on its investment. That cry was echoed...
...rental assistance to low-income tenants. The FHA, however, was nonplused by his insistence on building something other than a clump of high-rise boxes. First, the FHA objected that site costs were too low. The Worcester Redevelopment Authority proposed to sell 17 acres of land to State Mutual for $43,000, but FHA rules called for a minimum of $500 per dwelling unit, or $215,000. State Mutual managed to convince the bureaucrats that the costs of clearing the land would make the site adequately expensive. Architect Thompson wanted to preserve the natural beauty of the area...
Five months ago, a workman on the site accidentally dug into a gas main, touching off an explosion that injured eleven people, none seriously, and caused further delay. Now State Mutual is fighting an antiquated provision in the state building code that would force the company to hang fire escapes over the facades of the low-rise buildings. The project complies with Worcester's more modern fire code...
Critical Exposure. State Mutual has finally accomplished its public service goals. Whites, blacks, and Spanish Americans are moving into the project, now called Plumley Village East-a year and a half behind schedule. Most of them live in more attractive apartments at lower cost than in the old houses that were torn down...
Chairman Plumley, however, is discouraged. The delays have pushed construction costs from the $11.8 million originally estimated to nearly $15 million. State Mutual will have to settle for a 5 3/4 annual return on its investment, v. the 9% to 10% that the company could earn financing a purely commercial housing venture. Plumley, who last month announced his retirement at age 69, is even more annoyed by "the cost of exposing yourself to criticism that you know is unjust." He adds: "I believe there were other companies in this community who would have been interested in helping, just...