Techical Assistance
Introduction to TA
Demonstration Program
Fee-for-Service
Team of Experts
Initiate Request for TA

New Orleans, La



The New Orleans Vacant Properties Initiative officially opened its doors in January 2008 as a partnership of the National Vacant Properties Campaign and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation. One of our key goals is to help city officials and the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA) by providing information on field-tested model practices. With no time to lose, our new NOVPI director hit the ground running:

  • The NOVPI brought in code enforcement experts to advise officials from the city’s Office of Recovery and Development Administration (ORDA) as they drafted a new code enforcement ordinance for unoccupied properties. The ordinance, which provides new standards, safeguards and enforcement tools, passed the New Orleans City Council on March 20th. Read a recent article from the Times-Picayune.
  • As way to help the city improve and streamline its procedures for inspecting and abating troubled properties, NOVPI is working closely with city officials at Code Enforcement, Health, and the Vieux Carre and Historic District Landmarks Commissions to “diagnose” current procedures and recommend changes.
  • At NORA’s request, NOVPI is helping to develop guidelines for a new program that will help individuals and small developers – both for-profit and non-profit – to acquire up to five properties that can be developed into housing. This will be a new avenue for individuals and small developers to participate in the rebuilding of New Orleans.

Read the NOVPI announcement.
Contact the NOVPI Director at lflowers[at]lisc[dot]org.

The NOVPI is an outgrowth of work the Campaign began in 2004, when officials were working to improve systems to deal with more than 20,000 vacant and abandoned properties throughout the city. Since hurricanes Katrina and Rita, those efforts to assess and provide recommendations to streamline existing legal powers, operating policies and procedures, and programs that guide the City’s property acquisition and disposition have become even more critical. Scroll down to read the Campaign’s report from 2005.

NVPC Work in 2004-2005

Client: City of New Orleans and New Orleans Neighborhood Development Collaborative (NONDC)

Team of experts: Frank Alexander, Emory University School of Law; Lisa Mueller Levy, Local Initiative Support Corporation; Joseph Schilling, Virginia Tech’s Metropolitan Institute

Description of work: New Orleans has been actively seeking to improve its ability to quickly and efficiently return its large inventory of vacant and abandoned properties to productive use. The TA team conducted an assessment visit in July 2004 and produced a set of recommendations to streamline New Orleans’ acquisition and disposition of vacant, tax delinquent and blighted properties. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, our ongoing work will focus on supporting redevelopment efforts of the City of New Orleans by helping to implement strategies to help create housing opportunities in New Orleans.

Read the draft report.