News Roundup

St. Thomas Redevelopment

Where Y’at?
by Mke Luke
January 2005

“Of the 2,785 people who lived in the St. Thomas Housing Development in New Orleans before it was demolished for redevelopment in 2000, all were poor… . The population density of the development was over 400% higher than that of the surrounding neighborhood. Most nearby through-streets came to a dead-end at St. Thomas. The rate of violent crime in the complex was 722% higher than that for the city as a whole, in a city that topped national statistics for violent crime per capita… . St. Thomas, in short, was a typical American ghetto.” — Broderick Bagert, Jr., Hope VI and St. Thomas: Smoke, Mirrors and Urban Mercantilism

Today, with the old projects razed and now renamed River Garden, the neighborhood abounds with growth, as Wal-Mart, beautiful houses, cobblestone intersections, and faux antiques lights line the streets that rise from the ashes of St. Thomas. The effect of the renewal has reverberated throughout the area, as rollout dumpsters and other signs of renovation ubiquitously appear in the adjacent neighborhoods. With an apartment complex and a retirement home yet to be constructed, the work completed represents only a portion of the plan. This development, which at times has had its controversy, was funded through a project called HOPE VI, an acronym that stands for Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere. Through this plan, a mixture of private and federal funds is used to create a mixed-income neighborhood, where assisted-income (paying between $25 and $350 a month) and market-rate renters (starting at $720 for a one-bedroom apartment) are to cohabitate. As houses are completed, some — not all — of the old residents of St. Thomas are returning to live in the revitalized neighborhood.

The idea of mixing economic strata through a fusion of private and government funds was derived from the fact that St. Thomas was a failure, as crime, drugs, and poverty ruled a neighborhood where the streets metaphorically and literally dead-ended. Primarily, this new paradigm is from the thinking that the clustering of the poor in a condensed manner only serves to increase the woes of residents of the projects. Paying for the redevelopment is what makes Wal-Mart essential to the area; not only does it fill a retail vacuum in Orleans Parish, it is an engine that spurs growth, as its sales taxes are culled and put back into the project.

From former residents to developers, all parties agree that St. Thomas’ past was not paradise and something had to change. That, however, is probably the only place of agreement, as factions of each party have fought bitterly over the direction and makeup of River Garden. Talking with each side, it is difficult to imagine that they are speaking about the same neighborhood; it is as if each speaks a different language. Nevertheless, the redevelopment pushes on at a blinding pace.

Doubting Thomas

A gadfly to corporate interests, Don Everard has been a major player in the redevelopment fight in the area as a member of the St. Thomas/Irish Channel Consortium. Commonly known as “Brother Don” throughout the neighborhood, Everard does not give off the aura of a fighter for the rights of predominantly poor African-Americans, as he is a calm, quiet non-descript older Caucasian man who dresses in plain clothes. A former Christian Brother, he serves as a community spokesperson and as educator and director of Hope House, a community center that serves a myriad of purposes.

In the late 1970s, Everard was teaching at a high school, and he brought students to St. Thomas “to learn a little about poverty and wealth.” Not satisfied with merely teaching the lessons of poverty, he moved into St. Thomas in 1983, a section that several former residents described as the roughest part of the development. “A couple of us [Brothers] had decided that rather than teach in a regular high school, we wanted to work directly with low-income people in some kind of educational or justice work,” tells Everard of an impetus that has lasted for 21 years, 14 of which was in the development. “We were some of the few white folks living in the place, but we were accepted very well. Maybe because they thought we had guts to move in,” he laughingly recalls the early years. His connection to the area is so strong that when the city decided to tear down St. Thomas, Everard subsequently left the Brothers and bought a house in the neighborhood.

Near Hope House, saws and hammers ring through the air and create a cacophony of noise; a chain link fence is emblazoned with “Do Not Enter.” This is the frontline of the redevelopment, where the two worlds of rich and poor are colliding on St. Andrew Street, and, in Everard’s estimation, where the poor are losing. Even with skyrocketing property values and cleaner, safer streets, he still sees injustice, as he says that not enough former residents are coming back — a number that, depending on who you ask, fluctuates between 40 and 10%. The problem Everard has is that St. Thomas’ original HOPE VI grant called for an even 50% market-rate housing to 50% affordable housing. With the imbalance, Everard worries that subsidized residents’ voices will be drowned out by market-rate residents, and that a confrontational relationship will flourish. He also complains that the subsidized residents are subjected to ridiculous rules, such as how many guests they are allowed to have in their homes at one time. All of this, Everard feels, will only gentrify the neighborhood, which was also a major concern of St. Thomas residents.

When asked if the residents had an inauspicious feeling about letting outside, for-profit investors into the project, he replied, “I had the same anxiety myself. Maybe I had become ‘projectized,’ […]. I just had a deep distrust with how the whole deal was set-up: a mix of government and private enterprise. I didn’t have a good sense that was going to be in the best interests of poor people.”

The Architect

Diametrically opposite of Everard’s depiction of River Garden is the CEO of Historic Restoratio, Inc. (HRI), Pres Kabacoff, who spearheads the redevelopment. Witty, charismatic, and effervescent, Kabacoff’s bold, resolute vision is quickly becoming a reality in the Lower Garden District. According to him, Kabacoff says the development’s goal is “to create a diverse — diverse in age, race, income, and diverse in use: housing, retail — vibrant […], sustainable community.”

It is not the composition of HRI’s goal that opponents argue against but rather the ratio of poor to wealthy in River Garden. But in order to make the project successful, Kabacoff believes that his ratio is not only right but essential: “If you have it dominantly affordable, then the market-rate is afraid to come in. My research says about 70 [market-rate]-30 [affordable]. And with 30% affordable (mothers with children), you are pushing the envelope. But I think with good management and design, you can make that kind of mixture work.”

When HRI received the contract for redevelopment, groups such as The Urban Conservancy voiced concerns due to the firm’s alleged connection with the Morial administration, which ran the mayor’s office when the contract was approved. To those critics, Kabacoff says unequivocally that only HRI could have handled the complexities of redevelopment “because of the public/private [funding], the need for additional funding, and the understanding of social issues.” In addition, HRI is locally based and has done well-received work in the city, as they have been lauded for their work on the American Can Apartments and the Cotton Mill Apartments.

Eagerly ready to refute the multifarious attacks — of which he believes are merely a minority — to his plan, Kabacoff showed photos of the rundown area where Wal-Mart went before construction. With a sardonic tone, he flipped through the pictures, “This is what they [preservationists] said, ‘Pres, how could you put a Wal-Mart into the fragile Lower Garden District?’ Well, there ain’t nothin’ fragile about it: this is a concrete mixing plant, these are dilapidated wharves, these are dilapidated warehouses – which we saved. This was the wonderful river view they said we were going to block; it’s actually a floodwall.” In addition to these charges, Kabacoff denies claims of damage to nearby residents’ homes.

Similar to the ratio of affordable to market-rate housing, Kabacoff insists that Wal-Mart was vital to the plan. “The project was $20 million short. The city had promised to put 20-million bucks in and they couldn’t do it. Morial said, ‘Look, can’t do it.’ I said, ‘Look, if I can go get a big-box retailer and put it out here, will you take the taxes that you get — that tax stream — allow me to take it to Wall Street and put it into the development as your contribution?’ He said, ‘Pres, if you can pull it off, that’s great,’” Kabacoff recounted.

On Wal-Mart’s viability in the Lower Garden District, Kabacoff cites economist Michael Porter, a PhD from Harvard who specializes in urban renewal. Kabacoff remembered Porter’s advice, “He said, ‘You have an opportunity. America has decided that they want to shop at Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Lowes, and Target, but they haven’t put them in cities because of preservationists, because of environmental issues, land assemblage.” In conjunction with Porter’s assertion, Kabacoff also discovered that Orleans Parish was losing huge sums of tax revenue because of the city’s lack of a major retailer. “I believed that even if I didn’t do St. Thomas, I believed that Wal-Mart made sense for the city,” Kabacoff emphatically stated. One reason, according to him, was the exorbitant prices low-income residents faced at corner stores: “The poor used to have to pay $3.50 for a can of soup; now, they can get it for 60 cents.”

The Corner Store

Since 2000, the businesses that tried to ride out River Garden’s completion have had a tough time, as a majority of their consumers relocated. Nevertheless, touring the corner stores that dot old St. Thomas, it is difficult to find grocers willing to talk candidly, as most are immigrants who are weary of tape recorders or questions. One storeowner, however, that has been around St. Thomas for 30 years, was willing to speak on the condition of anonymity.

“When the project was here, we was doing big business; there was four or five grocery stores in this area, but they all close,” he lamented. “There was a lot of good people. They say, ‘Bring me this or bring me that.’ I can’t say no because when somebody come to you for 30 years, you can’t turn them down.”

Similar to St. Thomas as a whole, not all of his customers were fondly remembered, as conducting business next to a housing project can be a hazardous way of life. “I miss some of them. But some of them was bad, I’ll be honest with you, I was glad that they left. The ones dealing with the drugs.” He also added that he survived two robberies in 30 years. Asked if the neighborhood was now safer, he replied sarcastically with a smile, “Yeah, nobody here.”

He said he owned another store but closed it due to the lack of business. After laying off his employees, now only he and his son work at the store. Moreover, he had to cut back his hours of operation “because we make no money,” but he is not worried about Wal-Mart, as he does not see them as a direct competitor. He said most of his customers only come in to get a few items.

Another problem he claimed was that the developers had busted a water pipe and it backed up into his property. Rather than incur the legal costs of fighting a big developer, he paid to fix the damage. He thought a legal fight would cost too much and chances of success were not realistic.

But as business declines, ironically, his property value continues to rise. When asked if any realtors had made offers, he displayed the fortitude that sustained him through the years: “They try to buy it, but I’m not sellin’. They try because there ain’t no business here. They ain’t look to buy the business, they want the property. I ain’t gonna sell.”

The Beating Heart

At the center of River Garden is the world’s largest retailer and omnipotent sign of American postmodernism: Wal-Mart. Essential in generating the tax revenue for the redevelopment, the superstore was vehemently opposed by factions. The opposition was against several issues, such as traffic concerns, aesthetic appearance, low pay for workers, and, because of the power of the retailer, the impact on area business.

So far, according to Wal-Mart, these worries have yet to materialize. “Since we have been open the only concern that has been shared with me is the fact that we weren’t a 24-hour Super Center,” Al Hitt, the store manager said, amid a din of “Attention Wal-Mart shoppers” messages from the intercom. He also told stories of people riding the bus and taking taxis just to shop in his store.

Driving by the Tchoupitoulas location, it is apparent business is booming. Hitt confirmed this notion by stating that community response has been amazing and adding, “My weekly payroll is in excess of $150,000.” As a result, the store has created 650 jobs in an area that lacked a major employer. Additionally, Hitt stated, “We definitely hired associates who were from former St. Thomas.” But that number of employees, due to confidentiality, could not be quantified.

In fact, business is so good, Hitt said, “The biggest challenge that I have right now as the manager of this store is keeping it in stock for the customers. We are already way ahead of the pace of any sales expectation of this store. The grocery business has been phenomenal. The problem we’re having is staying in stock throughout the entire day to serve our customers.”

When asked about the company’s alleged predatory tactics or the effect on businesses around the store, Hitt recalled what he told the media on opening day: “The ones that are taking care of their customers are going to stay open; the ones who weren’t are probably going to struggle.”

The People

Standing on his front steps, Ernest Williams, a homeowner, looks over the chain link fence at the exploding development. His perspective on the situation is unique, as he lived in St. Thomas 20 years ago and then moved out to buy a place in the area.

Williams’ story epitomizes how subsidized housing was meant to work: “It was nice because it put me on my feet. Me and my wife was in there together, and I worked it. I used my money in the right way and put it to a home.” The home that he worked for is a great source of pride, and he will not sell even with an increase in value; rather, it will be left to his children.

Williams also claims that his house was damaged during the redevelopment. “It’s not the money. I don’t need the money from the repairs. I just want them to repair the home. I’ve been having sewage problems, been having water problems. They still are not doing anything about it.” To correct these problems, Williams — along with 40 other residents — are attempting to sue for compensation.

He is also skeptical of the amount of returning residents at River Garden: “I don’t think 30% is going to come back. And the reason why is that there is too many rules over there; it’s too strict.”

Aside from the lawsuit, Williams does like the look the neighborhood is beginning to take. He believes that the prospects of rich and poor living together in River Garden can work, but he added the caveat, “It’s up to the individual; it’s up to how you want to better yourself.”