Subsidy Program Aimed to Bring Homeowners Back to the Lower 9th Ward

A new development subsidy program by the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA) is designed to provide new homeownership opportunities in the neighborhood that suffered the most catastrophic damage of any part of New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina, the Lower 9th Ward.

The program "offers subsidies to developers willing to turn some of the vacant Lower 9th Ward properties NORA owns into affordable single-family homes for purchase," reports Jessica Williams.

According to Williams, the new program offers relief to residents and stakeholders in the Lower 9th Ward who believe programs in the neighborhood since Katrina haven't helped the neighborhood recover to its previous conditions. Some neighborhood advocates believe NORA programs have failed to support and attract homeowners since Katrina.

"But developers and some city officials say the demand for homes in the Lower 9th Ward has been lackluster because the neighborhood lacks important services. They see it as a chicken-and-egg problem that might be remedied if public subsidies could be used, at least at first, to lure new renters," explains Williams.