[StBernard] New York Times Publishes LRA Executive Director's Letter to the Editor about Affordable Housing

[Westley Annis]

New York Times Publishes LRA Executive Director's Letter to the Editor about Affordable Housing


BATON ROUGE, La. - The New York Times on Thursday ran a letter to the editor from Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) Executive Director Andy Kopplin about mixed-income developments and affordable housing in New Orleans.

Earlier this month, the New York Times published "In New Orleans, a Test of Mixed-Income Housing," an article about the construction of multifamily housing in the city after Hurricane Katrina. Much of this development is funded through Louisiana's "Piggyback Program." 

Conceived by the LRA and designed in collaboration with the Office of Community Development (OCD) and the Louisiana Housing Finance Authority (LHFA), the "Piggyback Program" leverages federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds and GO ZONE Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) to promote the development of high quality market rate and affordable workforce housing in hurricane-damaged areas.

The $569 million Piggyback Program has helped start 33 new housing developments, including The Preserve and the Crescent Club on Tulane Avenue in New Orleans, the redevelopment of the former National American Bank building into mixed-income rental housing called 200 Carondelet in New Orleans and Classic Construction of New Orleans' Laurel Terrace development in the New Orleans' Seventh Ward.

*	To read the New York Times' article, click here. <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/21/realestate/commercial/21orleans.html> 
*	Kopplin's Letter to the Editor is below. The read the letter online, click here. <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/29/opinion/lweb29orleans.html?_r=1&n=Top/Opinion/Editorials%20and%20Op-Ed/Letters&oref=slogin> 


To the Editor:

Re "In New Orleans, a Test of Mixed-Income Housing'' (Business Day, Nov. 21):

It is no accident that there is a surge in the construction of multifamily housing along the Tulane Avenue Corridor and elsewhere in New Orleans. Entrepreneurs like the principals of the Domaine Companies and HRI Properties have responded to an innovative program that combines federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits and Community Development Block Grants to finance the development of high-quality mixed-income properties that will transform New Orleans and develop thousands of units of affordable housing without recreating pre-Katrina concentrations of poverty.

Absent the strategic layering of block grant financing along with the tax credits, these exciting developments would not even be under consideration.

Likewise, the investment boom along Tulane Avenue is the direct result of another public-sector strategy: the declaration of that area as one of 17 targets for redevelopment by the City of New Orleans.

We've fought aggressively for the federal funds we need for our recovery, and are investing them strategically as part of our implementation of citizen-driven plans that embrace best practices for housing and community development. We are excited to see our progress being hailed.

Andy Kopplin
Executive Director
Louisiana Recovery Authority


The Louisiana Recovery Authority is the planning and coordinating body that was created in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita by Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco to plan for the recovery and rebuilding of Louisiana. The authority is working with Governor Blanco to plan for Louisiana's future, coordinate across jurisdictions, support community recovery and resurgence, and ensure integrity and effectiveness. Working in collaboration with local, state and federal agencies, the authority is also addressing short-term recovery needs while simultaneously guiding the long-term planning process.

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