News Roundup

NORA Plans What To Do With 7,000 Road Home Properties

City Business
November 13, 2007

NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Redevelopment Authority and the city of New Orleans Office of Recovery Management will hold a public forum on 6:30 p. m. Nov. 28 in the New Orleans City Council Chambers, 1300 Perdido St. The forum will allow the public to gain information and give input about the Orleans Parish Redevelopment and Disposition Plan for Louisiana Land Trust properties.

About 7,000 LLT properties will transfer to NORA over the next 18 months. LLT properties are those sold to the state as part of the Louisiana Road Home program. NORA will be responsible handling the properties and is seeking citizen input into the process.

“It’s critical that we hear what the people have to say about this process,” said Joseph Williams, NORA executive director. “There is a presumption in New Orleans that the demand for property is unlimited. The unfortunate reality is that soaring construction costs and homeowners insurance premiums have driven the price of housing so high that it has limited demand and hindered affordability.”

Herschel Abbott, NORA board chairman, said disposition of properties will be in line with market demand.

“We don’t want to flood the market with properties and precipitate a decline in property values,” Abbott said.

Ommeed Sathe, NORA director of real estate strategy, said more than 20,000 abandoned, tax-delinquent or blighted properties could eventually have to be addressed.

“Our job is to dispose of all of these properties while conforming to the Unified New Orleans Plan and the Citywide Strategic Recovery and Redevelopment Plan,” Sathe said.

NORA will submit its plan to the New Orleans City Council before it is forwarded to the Louisiana Recovery Authority. Copies of the draft of NORA’s application to the LRA are available at the New Orleans Public Library, or at www.cityofno.com or www.noraworks.org.