On January 30-31, the Isaiah Fund Board of Managers held its annual in-person meeting in New Orleans. In addition to meeting with local leaders to discuss infrastucture developments and plans in the city, the Board also toured Tremé, one of the New Orleans neighborhoods where the Isaiah Fund is focusing its initial community investments (and the same neighborhood as the HBO series’ namesake).
Providence Community Housing, a nonprofit real estate developer in which the Isaiah Fund has invested $400,000, is undertaking major affordable housing development efforts in Tremé. Most significantly, they are developing new and rehabbed affordable housing on and around the site of the former Lafitte public housing project. Read about their progress in the Clarion Herald.
Providence is using the Isaiah Fund’s loan to transport 31 historic homes from other parts of the city to Tremé, where they will be renovated and sold to former Lafitte families at subsidized prices of approximately $75,000.
The new homes are designed to resemble the historic homes. They are also directly across the street from each other.
Nearby, the Board also had the chance to see the future site of the VA Hospital and University Medical Center, a 70-acre joint hospital complex that will cost $2.5 billion and cover nearly 30 blocks.
In all, it was exciting to see the progress happening on the ground and hear about the extensive community coordination and planning that is helping shape it.