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Cottages, Not Trailers, Set For Louisiana's Jackson Barracks

Posted by: Mike Lydon
Thanks to: Ann Daigle
31 October 2007 - 8:00am

Already lagging behind Mississippi, Louisiana has finally approved the construction of 75 "Louisiana Cottages" (AKA Katrina Cottages) as an alternative to FEMA's temporary trailers, long thought to be a sub-standard and undignified form of housing.

"The state housing board has cleared the way for construction of 75 "Louisiana cottages" at Jackson Barracks, the first site for a long-planned pilot project financed by a $75 million federal grant to develop alternatives to emergency travel trailers.

But the first round of Louisiana cottages, the name given to modular units commonly called "Katrina cottages," will not be available to the general public. They are reserved for civilian and uniformed employees of the state military department, a restriction in a little-noticed agreement forged months ago between the military and the Louisiana Recovery Authority.

Jackson Barracks is headquarters for the Louisiana National Guard.

It remains unclear when any of the other planned 530 cottages will be available to victims of the 2005 hurricanes. Two other sites, in Baton Rouge and Lake Charles, have been approved but await federal environmental inspections before construction can begin."

Full Story: State OKs first 75 'Katrina cottages'
Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune, October 30, 2007
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The decision to abandon a property is a symptom of the loss of confidence. And while abandonment certainly affects confidence among surrounding homeowners, the most important question to answer is not "how do we deal with abandoned properties?" but "what is the most cost-effective way to restore market confidence, and how do abandoned properties fit into that picture?"
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