$25 Million Allocated for Housing to Benefit Communities Impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

Funding will benefit more than 450 families across the state.

BATON ROUGE, LA — Today, the Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC) released a $25 million Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) to increase and preserve affordable housing opportunities in 37 parishes impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Specifically, $14.7 M has been allocated for recovery in New Orleans, which sustained the largest amount of damage from Katrina. The remaining dollars will be made available in all parishes that were impacted by the storms.

“After more than a decade, communities that were hit by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita are still recovering and we are using every available resource to help them in their efforts,” said Gov. John Bel Edwards. “Recovering from disasters that large takes time and we’re committed to the long term recovery of New Orleans and all of the parishes impacted by Katrina and Rita. When Mayor Latoya Cantrell described the continuing need for funding to address the still lingering impacts of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans we worked diligently with LHC, the Office of Community Development and her administration to make this happen, not only for New Orleans, but for all the impacted regions of the state.”

LHC is projected to award 5-7 developments through OCD’s Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery Fund (CDBG-DR) designated specifically for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita recovery. It is estimated that the funding will assist 450 -750 families in the targeted areas.

“We recognize that helping communities affected by disaster often requires commitment and partnership,” said LHC Executive Director E. Keith Cunningham, Jr. “Through our partnership with the Office of Community Development, we have the ability to leverage our dollars to create more affordable housing opportunities for families in the impacted communities. We will continue to put ourselves in a position to help those who need us most.”

Nearly 50 percent of all housing units located in the Gulf Coast Region were damaged during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. To aid the recovery, Louisiana has invested more than $11 billion dollars to repair and rebuild housing as well as assist families affected by these storms.

“Long after a disaster has passed, it continues to impact our residents in many ways, not the least of which is the loss of affordable housing stock for working families,” OCD Executive Director Pat Forbes said. “These new housing developments demonstrate the state’s continued partnership with LHC though the commitment of Community Development Block Grant funds to areas impacted by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In addition, the business model of this housing program, which piggybacks disaster recovery funding onto Low Income Housing Tax Credits, will continue to cycle funds back into affordable housing for years to come.”

Eligible parishes include Acadia, Allen, Ascension, Assumption, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemine, Pointe Coupee, Sabine, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Vermilion, Vernon, Washington, West Baton Rouge and West Feliciana.

For more information, visit https://www.lhc.la.gov/2019-piggyback.