Location: New Orleans, LA
Developer: Columbia Residential
Owner: St. Bernard Redevelopment, LLC
Partners: Bayou District Foundation, Housing Authority of New Orleans

Columbia Parc at Bayou District is a 683-unit mixed-income master planned development, spanning 17 city blocks in New Orleans. The development includes a mix of two-story townhomes and three-story corner apartment buildings. Two-thirds of the units are public or assisted housing, while one-third are market-rate. Each housing unit has either a stoop, porch, or balcony to contribute to an active street life.

The financing for Columbia Parc includes tax credit equity, a loan funded through Community Development Block Grants, additional acquisition and construction loans, private debt for construction and bridge financing, and a permanent mortgage through Oak Grove Capital and Freddie Mac. In addition, a payment in lieu of taxes structure from the city of New Orleans reduced the rental rates required to make the project feasible.

The location in the Gentilly neighborhood was previously home to the St. Bernard public housing development, which was physically deteriorated prior to suffering additional damage during Hurricane Katrina. The master plan reconnected the site to the surrounding street grid, while adding new schools, social services, recreational opportunities, and retail. Extensive outreach to former St. Bernard residents resulted in more than 350 former resident households signing up for the project’s public housing waiting list.

The properties are built to the standards of LEED Silver and Platinum, as well as current hurricane codes, FEMA base flood elevations, and other local resilience standards. Almost all of the existing live oak trees on the site were saved.