[StBernard] St. Bernard pushes to make Village Square site open space

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard pushes to make Village Square site open space
by Chris Kirkham, The Times-Picayune 
Saturday July 11, 2009, 7:56 PM
Before Hurricane Katrina, the dense collection of apartments in the heart of
Chalmette was a breeding ground for crime and nightly disturbances. These
days, after four years of neglect, the Village Square tract breeds only rot
and mildew.



Since 2005, officials have tried -- and failed -- in several attempts to
redevelop the largest patch of blighted property in St. Bernard Parish. So
the latest move is to simply buy out the 37-acre patch of overgrown lots and
ungutted apartments with federal dollars and leave it as open space.

The green-space approach would prohibit development in Village Square for 99
years, leaving a gaping green hole in the center of town. The St. Bernard
Parish Council supported that move this week, with several council members
saying an across-the-board buyout will prevent future blight -- even if
nothing can be built on the land. 

"To say there is no plan is incorrect," Councilman Mike Ginart said. "We
gain control of a blighted area that had the worst crime before Katrina." 

In the past few years, the parish has gone through several versions of a
Village Square buyout plan that would have combined various pots of federal
money. FEMA hazard mitigation dollars would allow green space in only 70
percent of the area, but a separate pot of $6 million in Community
Development Block Grant money would have been used to buy out previous
owners and allow new mixed-use development in the rest of the area. 

Series of parish delays 

A series of construction bans approved by the parish have prevented former
landlords in the area from rebuilding. And many property owners have
complained of being strung along by buyout offers that eventually vanish
once the parish changes course. 

Earlier this year, landlords were told they could receive $8 per square foot
under a public-private partnership with CBO Financial Inc., a Maryland
company that had planned to buy out and redevelop the area on behalf of the
parish. But later in the spring, property owners received letters from a
parish contractor, Global Risk Solutions, detailing how much money they
could receive directly from FEMA as opposed to taking CBO's offer. 

In some cases the amounts were higher than the original $8-per-square-foot
price tag, causing confusion and eventually undermining the original plan to
mix green space and commercial development. 

The parish had originally set aside a ring of land for commercial
development along Oak Tree Lane, Southern Place, Plymouth Drive and the
eastern side of De La Ronde Drive. But late last month the parish's
Redevelopment Commission -- which includes the Parish Council, Parish
President Craig Taffaro and Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy James Pohlmann --
voted to open up the entire tract for a green-space buyout under the FEMA
program. 

FEMA program voluntary 

The FEMA green-space buyout is a voluntary program. So far, 15 out of 183
total property owners have closed on the FEMA buyout. Another 35 have
purchase agreements that are being reviewed by the state. Sixty-two more
have expressed interest, and the other 71 have yet to respond. 

Property owners who decide not to take the money could eventually rebuild
apartments in the area. 

Councilmen George Cavignac, Fred Everhardt and Wayne Landry tried to revisit
the decision but failed in a 4-3 vote at last week's St. Bernard Parish
Council meeting. 

Landry and Cavignac, who now sit on the parish's hospital board, had argued
that the parish should have stuck to a plan that would have reserved some
space for commercial development near the parish's busy Judge Perez Drive
commercial corridors. In particular, they wanted the space reserved as a
possible alternate site for the parish's yet-to-be-built $58 million
hospital. 

The hospital is now slated to be built on land in Chalmette donated by the
Joseph and Arlene Meraux Foundation. 

"The delays that were created by not committing to the plan we had been
operating under removed Village Square as an option for the hospital,"
Cavignac said. 

Questions of fairness 

Ginart and Councilman Ray Lauga had argued that there was not enough
contiguous space in the area for a hospital, and not enough federal block
grant money to buy out the land. They also said it would be unfair to
prevent property owners from getting more money after the parish had taken
so long to make a decision. 

"To get those people the maximum amount of money they can get on their
property and allow them to move on with their lives would be the right thing
to do," Lauga said. 

Cavignac had argued that the parish should try to expropriate the land
needed for the hospital. 

"To be quite frank with you, I'm not interested in the owners getting more
money as I'm interested in the future development of that area," he said. 

If a majority of the area is designated as green space, future options could
include a fairgrounds site or a solar farm that could generate tax credits
for the parish. 

Chris Kirkham can be reached at ckirkham at timespicayune.com or 504.826.3321.