NEW ORLEANS- May 22, 2023- HousingNOLA recognizes local non-profit, Louvis Services, for the completion of its first project funded through HousingNOLA’s Own the Crescent program. Louvis Services recently cut the ribbon on its first tiny duplex home in the lower 9th ward.
The group built the tiny home on Fats Domino Avenue in the Ninth Ward with plans to replicate the model around the city. The group sees the tiny homes as big steps to ending homelessness. HousingNOLA’s Own the Crescent program provided the funding.
“As an emerging developer, Louvis Services has been the fortunate beneficiary of the Own the Crescent loan fund offered by Housing NOLA,” says Lou Anne White, Executive Director of Louvis Services. “Their lending program has helped us start our journey to house and support the homeless community. Through the program, we received a construction and permanent loan that allowed us to create the permanent supportive housing model that we will replicate throughout New Orleans.”
The Own the Crescent Collaborative wants to help those property owners and developers increase production of units in response to New Orleans’ affordable housing crisis—a situation that the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent natural disasters have worsened to a full-on catastrophe. Now that the Own the Crescent model has been refined it will serve as an early test/model for private investment, collaboration, and increased housing production.
HousingNOLA will continue to incubate this program, expand on it over the next 18 months and identify other opportunities to address the problem of housing insecurity in New Orleans.
A primary initiative of the Own the Crescent program, landlord activation, will serve as a jumpstart for a common barrier in the New Orleans ecosystem - lack of accessible capital by owners and developers of color. There is an existing pipeline of projects (homeowners living in damaged properties, unable to earn revenue; heirs who have inherited land that they can improve; and BIPOC developers who want to rent to take advantage of programs like Section 8). This pipeline contains housing that can be built or rehabbed within 120 days. There is a significant need to create rental units as quickly as possible and target these units to increase wealth and quality housing for New Orleanians. While the footprint of the Claiborne Corridor Innovation District will serve as the focus, we will identify and invest in opportunities across the city to activate more units for more families in need.
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About Own the Crescent
Own the Crescent is a HousingNOLA program that helps landlords fix up and affordably rent their properties and helps first-time homebuyers find housing. Own the Crescent provides the tools needed to navigate the housing market to find programs that suit participants’ needs. Participants are given hands-on help including homebuyer training, credit counseling and special financing options.
Own the Crescent is open to:
First-time Homebuyers. Own the Crescent connects participants to valuable resources to assist them in the homebuying process. Services such as homebuyer education/training, financial literacy, and credit counseling offer the guidance needed to help first-time buyers get one step closer towards their dreams of homeownership.
Landlords/Developers/Small Businesses. Own the Crescent provides the financial means to renovate properties. The program offers an array of loan options to assist landlords and developers with making improvements. Consultants will help draft financial plans and assist with leasing units affordably.
To sign up or learn more, go to www.OwnTheCrescent.org or call 855-228-9328.
ABOUT HOUSING NOLA
HousingNOLA is a 10-year partnership between the community, leaders, and dozens of public, private, and nonprofit organizations working to solve New Orleans’ affordable housing crisis by implementing the 10-Year Strategy and Implementation Plan. Rather than just being a written document, HousingNOLA is an ongoing initiative to collectively remind New Orleans and its elected officials of the issues we face and our pledge to maintain a plan of action. Data indicates the need for 33,600 additional affordable units in the city by 2025 and the data clearly shows that wages have not come close to mirroring the dramatic rise in housing costs. It’s our job to hold our leaders accountable to the recommendations we make in HousingNOLA. Learn more at www.HousingNOLA.org
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