[StBernard] Final chapter opens on St. Bernard Parish apartment drama

[Westley Annis]

Final chapter opens on St. Bernard Parish apartment drama

Published: Wednesday, November 02, 2011, 6:10 PM     Updated: Wednesday,
November 02, 2011, 6:11 PM

 By Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, The Times-Picayune 

While it remains front and center in the St. Bernard Parish electoral
landscape - with those seen as helping pave the way for the developments
marked as targets in the Nov. 19 runoff - the court battle surrounding the
mixed-income Provident Realty Advisors apartments in Chalmette appears to be
in its final chapter. U.S. District Judge Ginger Berrigan today ordered that
by 3 p.m. Wednesday St. Bernard must issue the last building permit needed
for the Riverview site at 8149 West St. Bernard Highway.

 On Tuesday, Berrigan set schedules to resolve all remaining construction
issues at the four sites and set a timetable to arrive at damages,
attorney's fees and costs associated with St. Bernard's contempt of court.

By 5 p.m. Wednesday, parish attorneys must submit to Berrigan all
construction issues that they contend Provident must satisfy to obtain
occupancy certificates. If needed, a court hearing on final
construction-related conflicts will be held Nov. 17.

By Dec. 13, Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center and Provident
attorneys must submit requests of damages, attorney's fees and costs, with
final briefs on the matter set for filing on Feb. 1.

Last week, Berrigan ordered the parish to authorize Entergy to release
electrical meters to all the properties except for Riverview, since it did
not yet have a building permit because it was still resolving drainage
issues. After Berrigan threatened $10,000-a-day fines, the parish did so and
Entergy released the electricity later in the week.

Providing the building permit to Riverview is a formality at this point, as
Berrigan has allowed construction on all four apartments to continue despite
the parish's opposition, which she has labeled as discriminatory against
African-Americans and thereby in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act.

Construction begins on a Provident Realty Advisors multifamily development
site in Chalmette Thursday, March 3, 2011.

Construction of all four apartment buildings is complete, and all that
remains is landscaping, sidewalks and grading, and a handful of final
inspections that the apartments could not pass before they received
electricity.

Provident anticipates that all outside work on the four sites will be
completed by mid-November.

Provident must complete construction of the four developments by Dec. 31,
and place the buildings in service by then to utilize the low-income housing
tax credits that will enable Provident to provide the subsidized housing.

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