[StBernard] St. Bernard owners hear rebuilding options

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard owners hear rebuilding options
Many are willing to sell to developers 
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
By Karen Turni Bazile
St. Bernard/Plaquemines bureau 

Owners of multifamily properties in the Village Square area of Chalmette are
looking for help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina's devastation, and
public officials are hoping that a combination of government grants, tax
credits and private investment can be used to revitalize the blighted area. 
 
The St. Bernard Parish Council, sitting as the St. Bernard Housing,
Redevelopment and Quality of Life Commission, met last week to hear details
of redevelopment proposals and get input from area property owners who were
invited as well. Although reaction was mixed at a recent meeting discussing
such options, many property owners said they would be glad to sell to
developers or the government for the right price. 

While some owners said they wanted to sell their property for the right
price, others said they would like to redevelop their properties but they
have been frustrated by the parish's one-year moratorium on development in
the area. That moratorium expired Oct. 31. 

"I don't intend to give any of my property away," said Hassie Howell, who
owns 24 units in Village Square, two fourplexes and two eightplexes. "I
would love to rebuild my properties back. That was my life." 

Three of the proposals being discussed involve voluntary buyouts of
properties in the high-density, multifamily housing area bounded by the
Village Square retail center on the south, De La Ronde Drive on the west and
Oak Tree Lane on the north. 

A fourth proposal, which would not be for a redevelopment of the buildings,
would use federal hazard mitigation money to create open green space from
the area north of Oak Tree Lane all the way to 40 Arpent Canal. 

Parish Councilman Craig Taffaro, who chairs the housing authority, said CBO
Financial Inc., a for-profit developer pre-approved by the federal
government, wants to purchase the 22-acre square of property and turn it
into a mixed-income family neighborhood with buildings set aside for social
services. Under this proposal, the number of units in Village Square would
be reduced from around 700 now to 356. CBO proposes to finance the project
through federal grant and tax credit programs. 

CBO is based in Columbia, Md. 

Susanne Christoffersen, a Metairie Realtor who represented CBO at the
meeting, told the owners that CBO is offering to buy every property at $15
per square foot, which she said is about half of the pre-Katrina value for
the area. She also owns two properties in the area and intends to take the
offer. 

For the common lot size of 60 feet by 120 feet, that is an offer of
$108,000, and many of the owners at the meeting said they would be
interested. 

"It's like manna from heaven," said Elise Erdal, who co-owns two fourplexes
in the area. "If we can sell and get that kind of money, 80 to 85 percent of
us would be really happy to get that. I'm trying to call everyone to get a
consensus." 

The property owners will meet again Tuesday at 9 a.m., before the Parish
Council's meeting at 11 a.m. 

Another developer, Louisiana Housing and Community Development, a nonprofit
group created by the state Legislature, has a similar plan that would use
tax credits to redevelop the area, but no one with that group was able to
attend last week's meeting. 

The third redevelopment plan is devised by planner Andres Duany, who was
contracted by the Louisiana Recovery Authority to design a mixed-use
neighborhood with parks that would use financing from hazard mitigation
grants and private developers. No further details on funding were available.


In the end, Taffaro expects the area will be redeveloped using a combination
of the options. 

"We are trying to combine as many of these things as possible that allow
property owners to be compensated for their losses and to redevelop the area
to serve the parish as a whole in a positive way," he said. 

. . . . . . . 

Karen Turni Bazile can be reached at (504) 826-3321 or
kturni at timespicayune.com.