The 235 Experience in Knox County, Tennessee: A Study of the Role of the Private Sector in the Operation of the 235 Home Ownership Program from 1969-1973.

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of the private housing and home finance industry in the operation of the Section 235 home ownership program in Knox County, Tennessee.

The information and data utilized in this study was derived from a number of sources but primarily from interviews with selected builders, brokers, and mortgagees involved in the development and marketing of seven suburban “235” Subdivisions in Knox County. An assessment was made of the various roles of the private sector participants, their successes and failures in the operation of the Section 235 program, and the overall value of the program to the private sector and the low and moderate income people of Knox County.

The Section 235 program made quite an impact on Knox County in the provision of low and moderate income housing, especially during the period of this study from1969-1973.

Although the Section 235 program was almost entirely suburban in nature, excluded blacks in the “235” Subdivisions studied, was production rather than quality oriented, and tended to be less consumer oriented than it should be, it was viewed as successful in terms of its operation by the author. Primarily the program was found to be a boon for the builders and brokers of Knox County by the creation of a low and moderate income housing market.