Three years ago, the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority created a program called Near Miss, which opened the door for non-residential property owners to buy Road Home lots. So far, 59 properties have been acquired. But the City Council never approved the program, and most of those properties have not been zoned for commercial use.
Tag: Road Home
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Investigations
One homeowner’s travails: Even after more than six years, family can’t move back into "new" house
Thinking her bank had her best interests at heart, one woman paid off her mortgage with insurance money, and started down a tortuous bureaucratic road.
Posted inOpinion
Gung ho for demolition: FEMA pays, but neighborhoods lose
With FEMA footing the bill, the city plans to demolish this house, at 1209 N. Galvez St., a blight war maneuver as likely to degrade as improve the block. Photo by Brad Vogel. By Brad Vogel, The Lens contributing opinion writer | Over the weekend, David Simon, creator of HBO’s Treme, publicly critiqued the city’s […]
Posted inOpinion
City blight blitz is overlooking key allies: owners trying to rebuild
By Tess Monaghan, The Lens contributing opinion writer | Nearly six years after Hurricane Katrina, tens of thousands of residential properties in New Orleans sit vacant. Some have been blighted for decades. But many remain in disrepair simply because their owners lack the funds to repair damage from Hurricane Katrina. City Hall has set a […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Land Use
Auditor critical of demo plan
The state agency tasked with the maintenance of Road Home properties will be unable to meet its own deadline to end the program next year, according to a report by the Legislative Auditor.
Posted inLand Use
City tries to address homeowner's elevation hassles
This Mid-City property would be exempt from the new regulations because of its contributing status in a National Register District. New Orleans city officials this week tried to smooth an uneven policy that makes it tougher – and sometimes financially impossible – for investors to rebuild certain storm-damaged properties. It’s unclear, though, whether the change […]
Posted inInvestigations, Land Use
City's double standard hangs up dozens of Road Home sales and renovations
By Karen Gadbois – staff writer – State and city redevelopment authorities have suspended a program to sell Road Home properties until New Orleans permit officials resolve a problem that has thwarted would-be renovators by requiring costly home elevations. Dozens of property closings across the city are on hold while the matter is resolved. It’s […]