by James Parks, Aug 14, 2006

For decades, residents of the Tremél/Lafitte and Tulane/Gravier communities in New Orleans watched economic development go on all around them, never touching or improving their poor, blighted communities. Now, through the efforts of the AFL-CIO and Catholic Charities, these two neighborhoods could become models of how to rebuild the Crescent City one year after Hurricane Katrina.

Last week, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin announced that the AFL-CIO Investment Trust Corp. (ITC) and Providence Community Housing Inc.—the post-Katrina housing initiative organized by Catholic Charities of New Orleans—had been awarded 196 properties to develop in the Tremé/Lafitte and Tulane/Gravier areas.

ITC and Providence plan to develop up to 200 units of housing in Tremé/Lafitte and Tulane/Gravier as a first step in a $35 million comprehensive plan by ITC to rebuild and revitalize communities across the city. Overall, 22 developers, including ITC/Providence, were selected to redevelop 2,000 properties around the city in what is seen as the beginning of a long rebuilding process.
 
Says AFL-CIO President John Sweeney:

On behalf of our local and national labor unions and organizations, I want to thank Mayor Nagin and the city for creating this opportunity to bring decent, safe, affordable housing to the city’s devastated neighborhoods. Labor is proud to collaborate with the city and Providence Community Housing to perform such a vital and significant role in the renewal of New Orleans.

The $35 million ITC/Providence project is part of the AFL-CIO’s commitment, announced in June, to a $1 billion Gulf Coast Revitalization Program, which will finance badly needed affordable housing, spur economic development and create family-supporting union jobs in Gulf Coast communities devastated by Katrina.

The Gulf Coast Revitalization investment is the first major infusion of private capital into the area since last summer’s hurricanes. In the absence of meaningful help from the Bush administration, the AFL-CIO project is expected to open the door for other substantial investments in rebuilding the area.

Under the Gulf Coast Revitalization Program, investments by the AFL-CIO’s Housing Investment Trust (HIT), Building Investment Trust (BIT) and ITC will finance the production of housing for low- and moderate-income working families, increase homeownership opportunities and create good jobs for residents of New Orleans and other costal communities. Also targeted is a revitalization of the hospitality industry as well investment in the rebuilding of hospitals and  health care facilities. The investments are expected to generate nearly 6 million hours of union construction work and stimulate $1 billion of investment activity in housing and economic development over the next seven years. HIT and BIT combined have nearly  $6 billion in assets.

Carlton Arrendell, ITC’s chief investment officer, says:

We’re ready to roll up our sleeves and get started on pushing this project forward. We want to help redevelop communities and rebuild lives shattered by the dual forces of Katrina and poverty. 

Other groups working with Providence/ITC on the Tremé/Lafitte and Tulane/Gravier redevelopment project include the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department, the Southeast Louisiana Building and Construction Trades Council, HIT, NeighborWorks America, the Tulane University School of Architecture, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Architecture and Planning and the University of Nebraska. In addition to Catholic Charities, Providence’s local sponsors include Christopher Homes, Reconcile New Orleans, UJAMAA Community Development Corp. and Tulane/Canal Community Development Corp.

Together with local and national partners, ITC also plans to establish a plant to produce modular housing for Gulf Coast families that meets high standards for architectural compatibility, is resistant to storm damage and is energy-efficient.
 
ITC provides real estate sourcing, development assistance, marketing, investor relations and labor relations services to labor-related pension investment fund clients, including the BIT.

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