Lafitte Projects

Demolition work ongoing at the Lafitte Projects, July 2008

The Lafitte Projects are one of the Housing Projects of New Orleans and are located in the 6th Ward of New Orleans Treme neighborhood. It is one of Downtown New Orleans' oldest housing developments and had many associated problems before being severely flooded and damaged during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

By a Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) decree, the projects are being demolished. Providence Community Housing, a leading non-profit in the area, is slated to redevelop the Lafitte Projects complex as affordable, mixed-income housing. They are to replace every demolished unit. The large housing project was left mostly vacant following evacuations after the extensive flooding from Hurricane Katrina. Heated arguments have surrounded the demolition of the project, as some longtime residents wanted them renovated.[1]

The 27.5-acre (111,000 m2) site[2] is the future home to 1,500 affordable and market-rate homes. The first phase of the development plan includes 134 on-site affordable rental units completed in December 2010 and 47 on-site affordable homeownership units to be completed by March 2011. The overall Lafitte community will be constructed around existing schools, emphasizing education as the bedrock of the neighborhood.

The redevelopment will restore the historical street grid that was erased when the original housing development was built. The restoration will integrate the new buildings and residents into the city and provide for easier access to the surrounding areas. It will reconnect residents to essential supportive services, particularly those now offered at the reopened Sojourner Truth Community Center.

The development is being created in part by Low-Income Housing Tax Credit through Enterprise Community Investment, Inc., a real estate investment services company working to create affordable housing and develop communities. The homes are being built in accordance with the Enterprise Green Communities Criteria, incorporating healthy and energy-efficient building practices, materials and systems.

References

  1. ↑ Adam Nossiter, "In New Orleans, Ex-Tenants Fight for Projects", New York Times, 26 December 2006, accessed 1 April 2011
  2. ↑

External links

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