[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish moves forward with planning and selling vacant lots

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish moves forward with planning and selling vacant lots
 By Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, Staff Writer 
on October 19, 2012 at 6:24 PM, updated October 19, 2012 at 7:39 PM

St. Bernard Parish is moving forward on several fronts to address the swaths
of empty land that still cover its community since Hurricane Katrina. From
sales to targeted auctions to blueprints and public hearings, parish
officials are putting their ducks in a row to develop a vision for their
parish's future.

All told, there are 1,358 Louisiana Land Trust lots still available in St.
Bernard for distribution. This month, for the first time since Katrina, the
Louisiana Land Trust began selling lots that people are allowed to build
houses on. Previous sales of Road Home lots - within the Lot Next Door
program - came with a host of restrictions on what could be built on the
land, including a prohibition on new home construction.

The Louisiana Land Trust, with the aid of the parish, is currently on its
way to closing the sales of 83 properties. About 320 properties were made
available in the initial round based on interest.

The parish has dubbed the new program the Housing Opportunity Program
because "we wanted to stress our intention that these lots are to be used
for a new housing stock," parish Chief Administrative Officer Jerry Graves
said. "And we really wanted to distinguish between the Lot Next Door
programs."

In terms of the initial 83 properties sold, Graves said "we would have liked
to see more, but overall the program worked the way it was supposed to, with
the more desirable properties going toward auction and then selling for
above fair market value."

Land Trust Director Mike Taylor said that the initial sales program was a
success and that he could see "putting another one together and having
another sale by mid-December." He said that Hurricane Isaac striking around
the initial deadline to express interest likely stopped some buyers from
participating, despite the fact that the Land Trust did postpone the
deadline by a week due to the storm.

Initial sales

Of the initial 83 sales, 62 had one interested party and therefore did not
have to go to auction.

The auction Oct. 13 was for properties that drew interest from multiple
people. At that auction, 22 of 83 lots were sold, several of which ended up
selling for double their initial appraisal. All told, the 83 sales generated
about $650,000.

The average size of the 83 properties was 12,100 square feet and appraised
for about $7,220. Properties on average sold for $1.03 per square foot.
Sizes of the properties ranged dramatically, from 943 square feet to 150,000
square feet.

That 943 square-foot property actually was the most expensive per square
foot. The parcel at 102 Second Ave.l, near the Chalmette Battlefield,
appraised at $8.91 per square foot and sold for $8,400.

The cheapest property by square foot also was one of the largest. The
148,320 square-foot parcel at 1131 Louisiana 46, near Yscloskey, sold for 12
cents per square foot.

The most expensive overall property was an 11,298-square-foot lot at 2524
Uranus Drive, just off E. Judge Perez Drive in Violet, that sold for $45,000
at $3.98 a square foot. The least expensive overall property was a
7,217-square-foot parcel at 2000 Starling Drive in Poydras that sold for
$2,900, or 40 cents per square foot.

What's left and moving forward

The Louisiana Land Trust started with 4,464 lots. After the recent 83 sales,
there are 1,358 Louisiana Land Trust lots still available n St. Bernard for
disposition, not including 365 lots on hold due to title issues and other
closing procedures.

In part for those remaining lots and St. Bernard's general plans for
reimageing the empty space left since Katrina, Jeff Winston, of Boulder,
Co.-based MIG/Winston Associates, has begun consulting on St. Bernard's
first-ever Comprehensive Master Land Use and Zoning Plan process. Small
groups will begin meeting to discuss ideas, and the first large public
meeting is expected in early December.

While the Comprehensive Master Land Use and Zoning Plan is expected to take
a year to complete and provide a road map for the parish's development over
the next 20 to 30 years, in the next month, MIG/Winston Associates and its
subcontractors are expected to put together a short-term management plan for
the remaining Louisiana Land Trust lots and help map out some initial
maintenance and sales strategies.

In part, that early study is expected to examine the best options for bulk
purchases such as parties interested in purchasing five or more vacant lots
for larger developments. That might include bundling lots in targeted areas
that the parish would push for early redevelopment.

The parish has agreed to accept the deeds of unsold Louisiana Land Trust
lots by year's end, and will begin maintenance -- such as grass cutting --
on the lots sooner, as soon as they settle grass-cutting contracts.

A list of all Louisiana Land Trust lots for sale is available by clicking on
the top banner at www.lalandtrust.us or by clicking on the St. Bernard Lot
Sales Program link on the righthand side of parish's website, at
www.sbpg.net. The list can also be picked up at the parish government's
Office of Community Development, 8201 W. Judge Perez Dr., Chalmette, and at
the parish public library off Judge Perez, at 2600 Palmisano Blvd.,
Chalmette.

Individuals with sales questions can contact LLT officials at 504.799.4330,
Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.