Housing & Neighborhoods

The City's neighborhoods

are New Orleans' lifeblood.

In 1994, many of our

neighborhoods were

threatened with extinction.

There were 30,000

abandoned and blighted

properties and many of the

city's neighborhoods had

fallen into almost irreversible

disrepair, endangering our

most treasured and historic

residential and commercial

communities. The residential,

commercial and cultural

revitalization of those areas

was a major focal point of

our administration.

As we begin to revitalize our existing housing stock, it became apparent that there was a need to empower homeowners and create ownership opportunities. Our local partners at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stepped up with creative financing programs and homeowner educational components.

Through community partnerships with banking institutions, the faith-based community, non-profit organizations and neighborhood groups, the City's Division of Housing and Neighborhood Development implemented the Impact Neighborhood Strategy (INS). The housing recovery strategy promoted rehabilitation efforts in cluster areas. The initiative focused on recruiting national and local lending partners to adopt inner-city neighborhoods and partner with the city and local community development corporations in pooling their financial resources.

Homeownership & Neighborhood Revitalization
Fannie Mae's "Housing New Orleans" generated nearly $1 billion in single-family loans and multi-family developments. The partnership created affordable home loans for more than 10,000 families and provided multi-family structures such as Malta Square, Venus Gardens and Filmore Park Apartments.

More than $5 million in Community Development Block Grant funds were leveraged into $160 million in Finance Authority of New Orleans' single-family mortgage revenue bonds making 2,500 families first-time homeowners.

Community development and faith-based organizations, banks and the Housing Authority of New Orleans have pumped more than $1.7 billion into the local economy prompting housing recovery and new development activity in every neighborhood of the city.

New Orleans recorded more than 21,000 home sales from 1994-2002. Since 1994, homeownership has increased from 42% to 47%. Among the programs which has turned renters into homeowners are: the Mayor's Soft Second Mortgage program for low-to-moderate income families; Project Reclaim which targets the purchase and renovation of blighted and vacant properties; and Freddie Mac's "Double" Program which converts rental duplexes into homeownership opportunities.

Continued ...

American Mayors Legacy Project