NEW ORLEANS — On Jan. 22, New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity leaders and supporters gathered for the ground breaking of Rising Oaks, a 150-home affordable housing community that will fill the 44-acre site of the former Plantation Golf & Country Club on Behrman Highway in Terrytown, La.
Habitat has built 750 homes in its four-decade existence, but it has never undertaken a project of this scale. Jefferson Parish has committed $5 million to get the project to this stage, and the nonprofit expects the final price tag to hit $56 million.
It’s a “wild-ass idea,” in the words of the nonprofit’s Executive Director Marguerite Oestreicher, that has captured the imagination — and support — of area housing advocates, business leaders and elected officials.
Habitat expects to cover about 60% of the project’s cost from public sources and the rest will come from donations. A capital campaign is underway, and, barring any major obstacles, the entire project could be complete in five years. A favorable purchase price of $3 million for the entire property has helped keep costs down.
“Our board is very excited about this project,” said Oestricher at the event. “We are thrilled to partner with Jefferson Parish for this ambitious undertaking of the aim to transform a dormant golf course into quality, safe, affordable housing that is desperately needed in our community.”
The plan is to build 150 energy-efficient homes along with mixed-use property that could house a childcare center, a credit union and other businesses and services. One third of the homes will be less than 1,000 square feet each and reserved for senior living (age 55 or older). The remaining houses will be larger two-, three- and four-bedroom properties designed with first-time homebuyers in mind.
Infrastructure work has already begun. Late last year, Quality Engineering and Surveying began the process of grading the first phase the site and installing streets, sewer lines, power lines, fiber and lighting. Designers have included stormwater management features.
This fall, Habitat volunteers will begin constructing the development’s first five or six homes, starting with the smaller structures designated for seniors on the south side of the property. The first homeowners could move in as soon as 2025.
Woodward created the architectural renderings for the site. Garrity + Accardo Architects designed the homes.
In a nod to Terrytown’s 1960s roots, the Rising Oaks houses will feature mid-century modern design touches. They will also be built to the insurance industry’s “Fortified Gold” standards to help them endure hurricanes and other extreme weather events.
Above all, Oestricher hopes the project exemplifies the organization’s “what if” mentality.
“This is an opportunity to build differently, and to think holistically about an entire community,” she said. “Workforce housing doesn’t just have to be affordable. We want to have green spaces where children can play and a community can truly thrive and not just exist. If you lead with the premise that everyone deserves a decent place to live, why would it not have every possible oak tree? And why would it not have walking trails and paths and places for friends and families to enjoy together? That’s what Rising Oaks represents.”
Allen Bell, Habitat’s director of strategic planning, said that this project comes at a time when the median house price in the country is $400,000 and the average house in Jefferson Parish is over 40 years old. Both numbers point to the urgent need for more quality affordable housing.
“That’s what we’re up against,” he said. “And Jefferson Parish, like much of the country, has a rapidly aging population, which increases the need for senior housing. This project is innovative and sustainable, and it incorporates some of the best practices in residential real estate development from across the country.”
Bell said it wasn’t too long ago that he and his colleagues were surveying the site, while “picking up stray golf balls and avoiding rattlesnakes.” As soon as five years from now, the team could be celebrating the completion of an entire neighborhood designed to sustain the city’s hospitality workers, educators, first responders and other essential workers.
“These are homes for 150 families that will impact the next generation,” said Habitat board member Kevin Ferguson. “I think about the Thanksgiving dinners here and the kids learning to ride their bikes in this neighborhood and becoming friends. I think about the many seniors that we’ll be able to age in place with dignity in a house that supports their needs. And how that will go on and on forever.”
