One of New Orleans’ biggest eyesores has a chance at new life after winning federal grant

The former U.S. Navy base in the Bywater that sat empty for years and became a haven for squatters is among a half dozen New Orleans-area housing projects to win millions of dollars in federal funding, a financial boost that’s expected to spur the notorious eyesore’s rehabilitation.

The Naval Support Activity base at the intersection of Dauphine Street and Poland Avenue, which dates originally to 1919, had many military uses over the decades until the last Marine Corps personnel left in 2011. The city took control in 2016 and struck a deal with developers to rehabilitate the complex as mixed-income housing.

But it has languished ever since as financing proved elusive, becoming a prime example of metro area blight. Two years ago, New Orleans police had to sweep the 25-acre complex to remove squatters after the site had become the focal point of crime in the area.

The $20 million of federal funds for the “NSA East Bank Apartments” project, as it is known, was the largest single grant awarded from a pool of $230 million federal Community Development Block Grant — Disaster Relief funds aimed at improving affordable housing in Louisiana after hurricanes Laura, Delta and Ida.

The Navy base grant was one of a half dozen grants for projects in the New Orleans area, which also included money to rehabilitate the historic Touro Shakespeare Home in Algiers, another well-known blot on the urban landscape.

In total, the program has funded projects aiming to build nearly 1,000 housing units in the metro area and more than 2,300 statewide. The latest round awarded funds to 19 projects out of a total of 69 applicants, including the first housing development in the River District neighborhood.

While the money for the Bywater site does not guarantee that the $166 million project will be completed, the Louisiana Housing Corporation, which administered the grant program, insists that applicants show that other sources of funds have been lined up before they decide which projects to back. Project developers then have about 10 months to finalize permitting, financing and other details before they must begin construction.

“We are in active discussions with each element of financing and are confident financing is available for this important New Orleans project,” Kevin Parkins, chief operating officer of The MCC Group, said of the former NSA site.

MCC is the real estate firm owned by the late Joe Jaeger, who died last month in a car accident on the northshore. Brian Gibbs, another partner in the project, said after Jaeger’s death that he hoped to lead the project through to completion as a legacy for Jaeger’s family.

The developers are also expecting to raise $28 million from a low-interest federal housing loan. Other financing includes: $48 million in state Low Income Housing Tax Credits; $54 million in state and federal Historic Tax Credits; and $8.5 million from the city.

Also retail, parking

The first phase of the project envisions converting the largest building in the dilapidated complex into a total of 294 apartments, all of which would be designated as affordable or workforce housing for people earning from 50% to 120% of the area median income. Rents would be no more than 30% of income.

The project also calls for 38,000-square-feet of ground floor retail space and more than 1,000 parking spaces, according to a public document filed by the developers in March.

Another historic rehabilitation project to win a grant was the Touro-Shakespeare Home on General Meyer Avenue in Algiers, which was awarded $5 million toward total project costs of just over $37 million.

The former “alms house” for the elderly was named for 19th century philanthropist Judah Touro, who provided the funds, and Mayor Joseph Shakespeare, who was mayor in the 1890s when the original premises was built Uptown. It is sometimes referred to as the Touro-Shakspeare Home because the name on the 1933 Algiers facade was misspelled.

As with the Bywater Navy complex, Touro-Shakespeare has deteriorated since Hurricane Katrina and was taken over by the city in the hopes of reviving the building for its original use.

Maurice “Pres” Kabakoff’s HRI Properties has been trying to assemble the financing for the project since it acquired the lease for the 7.7-acre site from the city three years ago.

HRI plans to convert the building into a 52-unit, affordable senior apartment community, said Josh Collen, President of the company’s HRI Communities division. He said the financing sources are the same mix of state and federal tax credits as well as city funds as on the Bywater project.

Landis Construction is scheduled to begin stabilization work before the end of this year, with full construction starting in spring 2025, aiming to finish in summer the following year, Collen said.

Drop in bucket

Also winning funding was a senior housing project in the Marrero Commons neighborhood in the B.W. Cooper area of the city. Providence Community Housing is the developer.

The grant of $8.9 million is the final piece of funding for that $37 million project to build 102 senior affordable residences.

“It’s a drop in the bucket compared to the overall need for affordable housing, but this is the largest single-action funding we’ve seen in a long time,” said Ryan Herringshaw, Providence Community’s chief operating officer, referring to the overall $230 million of federal grants allocated.

The other New Orleans area projects to get a total of nearly $30 million in funding were two new construction senior living projects by CST Land Developers. 

Reserve at Lapalco Place is slated to build 144 units in Jefferson Parish for a total cost of just over $51 million. Reserve at Tammany is to build 110 units on the northshore at a cost of $38 million. CST Land Developers didn’t respond to requests for comment.