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Public Housing Rebuilding Accelerated in New Orleans
Under plans to accelerate the return of public housing families to New Orleans unveiled by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson last week, about 1,000 units will be rehabilitated and reopened within the next 60 days. The plan also calls for raising the value of HUD Disaster Vouchers and redeveloping moderately to severely damaged public housing units to make way for a mix of public housing and affordable rental and single-family homes.
“President Bush said soon after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the city that he is committed to rebuilding the great city of New Orleans,” Jackson said. “We are making the President’s vision a reality with an innovative plan that will not only reopen nearly half of the city’s public housing, but also provide an economic and social renaissance to several New Orleans neighborhoods.”
About 1,000 public housing residents have already returned to the city, and by accelerating the cleanup and repair of additional units at the developments where they are now living, the Housing Authority of New Orleans will be reopening an additional 1,000 units by August.
Roughly 5,000 families occupying public housing were displaced by the hurricane last August.
Jackson has also directed the housing authority to increase the Fair Market Rate — which is used to determine the value of vouchers in local communities — by 35%. This will increase the value of the Disaster Vouchers that HUD is providing to displaced families.
The Fair Market Rate for a two-bedroom apartment in New Orleans was $696. The new payment standard will boost the voucher to $940, which should open up more rental housing opportunities for displaced households.
Until HUD finishes work on rebuilding and revitalizing its housing developments in the city — an effort that Jackson said “isn’t something that will be done overnight” — families will be assisted with Disaster Vouchers, Section 8 Vouchers and Tenant Protection Vouchers to cover rent wherever they have relocated.
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