THE GROVES | New Louisiana Development Will Feature Mix of Resident Incomes and Building Types
August 2010 | Tax Credit Advisor
http://www.housingonline.com/Documents/TCA%20Issues/TCAAugt010.pdf

When you look at it, it's almost like three different transactions in one," says Amber Seely, of Renaissance Neighborhood Development Corporation (RNDC), the New Orleans based developer of The Groves at Mile Branch Creek, a mixed-income planned unit development rising from the ground in Covington, La.

"There's one project that's just the infrastructure," says Seely. "The second project is developing the multifamily rental housing. And then there's the third project, doing single-family."

Recently closed and now under construction, The Groves is creating a vibrant new community where none existed while balancing local architectural tastes and scale with modern financing techniques. Covington, a city of about 9,700 in St. Tammany Parish,is a rapidly growing bedroom community about 45 miles north of New Orleans on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain.

RNDC, created by the Greater New Orleans affiliate and the national office of Volunteers of America, is developing the infrastructure (e.g., roads, sewers) for the entire 15-acre site; 35 lots for construction of single-family homes intended for low- and moderate-income families; and a 94-unit rental housing component funded in part by the federal low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC).

It's not your standard apartment building. Rather, the rental component will consist of 24 separate buildings -duplexes, fourplexes, sixplexes, and eightplexes, none over two stories tall. In all there will be 14 different building types, including six different kinds of duplexes differing in appearance mostly on the outside.

"We wanted the development to feel like a community, a neighborhood," says Seely. "So we felt like part of encouraging that kind of sense oftogetherness could be communicated through the design. Most neighborhoods develop over time, and not every building looks the same - there's variety. We wanted to make sure that The Groves didn't look cookie cutter."

The low scale and lower density of the overall project,together with a mix of affordable and market-rate ownership and rental units, helped RNDC to win local acceptance for The Groves and local approvals, including the re-zoning of the 15-acre site from agricultural. "This is the kind of affordable housing that is right for this community," says Seely.

The vacant site, located near downtown and one of the few undeveloped pieces of land in the area, abuts the West 30s Neighborhood, which Seely describes as a "pretty distressed community." With The Groves, RNDC is building on work done in the neighborhood by a local nonprofit, Habitat for Humanity St. Tammany West. This Habitat affiliate has already constructed a number of houses in the neighborhood for low-income families, financed with new markets tax credits, and helped to secure the purchase of the 15-acre site for The Groves for $900,000 from a local family.

Home Lots, Rent Levels
The local Habitat chapter plans to acquire at least 20 of the 35 home lots at The Groves to build modest single-family homes for sale to low- and moderate income families. Lots not purchased by Habitat will be sold to other developers for the same purpose.

Of the 94 rental units, five will be supportive housing units (one-bedrooms) leased to households making 20% or less of the area median income (AMI) for $130 per month. Another set of one-, two-, and three-bedroom units will be leased to households up to 40% of AMI at monthly rents ranging from $355 to $406. A third set of units of similar size will leased to households up to 60% of AMI at monthly rents ranging from $523 to $739. Finally, a fourth set of market-rate units of similar size will be leased at monthly rents ranging from $700 to $900.

The multifamily buildings and the single-family homes will face a two-acre park located at the center of the property.

There's a significant need for additional affordable housing in Covington, which has a significant number of both high-income and low-income residents as well as rising home prices. While spared from damage by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the city experienced a huge influx of evacuees from New Orleans, many of whom have remained. Parish leaders commissioned a study on local housing needs. "Some of the results of this study were that not only do we need more housing, but we need more affordable housing," says Seely, who adds, "There aren't a lot of rental options in this area."
CONTRACTOR HIRED FOR ABNEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL EXPANSION
6/4/2010 Melanie Ziems | The Times-Picayune
http://www.nola.com/education/index.ssf/2010/06/contractor_hired_for_abney_ele.html

A Mandeville construction company has been hired for an expansion at Abney Elementary School in Slidell.

The St. Tammany Parish School Board accepted the $2,267,000 bid from Kent Construction at the board's Thursday night meeting in Covington.

Kent's bid was the lowest of five submitted for the project, which will include an addition of 16 modular classrooms as well as an administration building, walkways, parking spots, landscaping and clearing.

Kent has done "good work for us in the past," said Deputy Superintendent Trey Folse. "We were happy with that."


CONOCOPHILIPS ANNOUNCES NEW PLAQUEMINES YMCA
5/25/2010 Natasha Robinson | YMCA New Orleans
http://www.ymcaneworleans.org/Articles/ArticleDetail/tabid/61/smid/382/ArticleID/35/reftab/124/t/ConocoPhillips-Announces-New-Plaquemines-YMCA/Default.aspx

ConocoPhillips hosted a ground breaking ceremony for the new $5 million Plaquemines YMCA community center on Wednesday, May 19th at 10 a.m. at the building site (8101 Belle Chasse Highway).

ConocoPhillips is partnering with the YMCA of Greater New Orleans to create a state-of-the-art community center for the Plaquemines Parish community.

When completed, the 20,000 square foot community center will provide valuable services such as swimming lessons, fitness training, summer camps and senior programs for community members. The facility will include an outdoor swimming pool, a large youth activity room, a teen center, adult activity room, aerobics and spin rooms, and many more great features.

"Through partnerships like this important one, we can better the quality of life for parish residents by creating a place for adults and children to gather and connect with their neighbors and enjoy an environment that focuses on health and fitness," said ConocoPhillips Refinery Manager Greg Lucchesi.

"We are very excited about this project and appreciate the generosity of ConocoPhillips," said YMCA of Greater New Orleans CEO David Ozmore. "ConocoPhillips' contribution enables the YMCA to provide important services to the community in an extraordinary center that will serve generations of community members."

A board of local business and civic leaders played a key role in championing the project and overseeing its creation. "We're excited about our progress," said Lisa Works, Plaquemines YMCA Board Chair. "The project has taken longer than expected because of new FEMA building regulations, but it gave us the opportunity to create a facility that will truly meet the specific needs for our community."

"I'm very pleased with the building design," said Betsy Brien, ConocoPhillips Public Affairs Director. "And on those hot summer days, I think our residents are really going to enjoy the pool with its zero-entry wet play area for children with spray features, a water slide, lap swim lanes and other fun features."

ConocoPhillips is an integrated petroleum company with interests around the world. For more information, go to www.conocophillips.com.