City announces final community meetings on Livable Claiborne Corridor Study

NEW ORLEANS, LA – September 25, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — Today, the City of New Orleans and the planning team for the Livable Claiborne Communities Revitalization Study announced the final round of community meetings to discuss the projected impacts and opportunities of future redevelopment scenarios for the Claiborne Avenue Corridor and surrounding neighborhoods.

The meetings are scheduled for:

Monday, October 7, 2013 from 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Christian Unity Baptist Church
1700 Conti Street
New Orleans, LA 70112

Tuesday, October 8, 2013 from 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Regional Planning Commission
10 Veterans Memorial Blvd.
New Orleans, LA 70124

“Continuing constructive strong dialogue with residents is important to completing the Livable Claiborne Communities study,” Mayor Mitch Landrieu said. “With the imagination and commitment of the community, we can raise awareness of what can be done to address the area’s needs and its very unique potential in manner that will drive growth to the Claiborne Avenue Corridor.”

During a series of community meetings and workshops in March, residents discussed and refined a series of four future scenarios and dozens of possible actions for the neighborhoods along the Claiborne Avenue Corridor. A set of goals derived from residents’ concerns and aspirations expressed during community meetings in December 2012 have become the foundation for the study’s focus areas and the yardsticks by which scenarios are being measured. They are:

• Preserve our identity by protecting our culture;
• Find sustainable solutions for our flood-prone environment;
• Provide equitable access to economic prosperity;
• Enhance transportation choice and access; and
• Manage change to benefit the existing community.

All area residents are encouraged to come out and hear from the team of planners, architects, and engineers about the feasibility of the potential scenarios for redeveloping the Claiborne Avenue Corridor and imagine Claiborne’s future with visual illustrations and proposed implementation strategies.

The Livable Claiborne Communities Revitalization Study is part of a nationwide trend to redevelop urban areas of major cities and transform them into sustainable and more livable communities. Actions that will be discussed will revolve around the priorities expressed by the more than 400 community members who have participated to date. They include:

• Reducing blight and vacancy;
• Keeping housing affordable for current residents and their children;
• Addressing the critical need for jobs and small business support;
• Making the area appealing to new and growing industries;
• Increasing residents’ access to fresh food and neighborhood-serving retail;
• Supporting local culture with neighborhood revitalization initiatives;
• Balancing the needs of residents and motorists when considering any changes to I-10;
• Increasing public transit access for area residents and commuters;
• Restoring beauty to Claiborne Avenue;
• Reconnecting neighborhoods;
• Improving streets for strolling, gathering and bicycling; and
• Incorporating effective storm water management into all plans.

The Claiborne communities at the heart of the study lie along Claiborne Avenue from Napoleon Avenue to Elysian Fields Avenue, and between Broad Street on the lake side and Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard, Rampart Street and St. Claude Avenue on the Mississippi River side.

Total funding for this study is $2,758,500 with funding coming from a $1,328,000 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Sustainable Communities Challenge Grant ($928,000 federal and $400,000 local match) and a $1,430,500 U.S. Department of Transportation/ Federal Highway Administration TIGER II Infrastructure Planning Grant ($1,072,000 federal and $358,000 local match). Local match funding is provided by a consortium of a philanthropic partners, the Mayor’s Office Strategic Opportunities Fund, and Urban Development Action Grant funding. This DOT/HUD partnership is unprecedented in that federal agencies are pooling their resources to consider community building holistically rather than focus on individual scopes of work. Under the Obama Administration, government agencies are working collaboratively to promote walkable, mixed-use neighborhood development, sustainable communities and healthier living conditions.

The Livable Claiborne Communities Revitalization Study will be complete in October 2013.

For more information, please visit www.livableclaiborne.com .