The Isaiah Fund has made more than $3 million in community development deposits and loans throughout the Gulf Coast, focusing on low-income neighborhoods in New Orleans.
Our first loan of $500,000 to Gulf Coast Housing Partnership (GCHP) is being used for several projects, including the Muses, a mixed-income rental housing project in Central City that will include 87 units of affordable housing. GCHP already has a long waiting list for the first phase of the project, which will ultimately provide housing for 263 households. The first building opened its doors this summer. This project will link Central City, a once vibrant working class and low-income African-American commercial corridor, with the nationally-known St. Charles Boulevard. Central City is currently the site of several important projects for affordable housing and commercial redevelopment. These efforts will help attract economic activity from the wealthy Lower Garden District to Central City.
In addition to Central City, Isaiah is also focusing its lending in Treme, another historically important African American neighborhood with increasing levels of community organization. Our first loan of $400,000 to Providence Community Housing will help provide quality affordable housing to replace the Lafitte housing development that HUD razed after Katrina in Treme.