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Past, Present & Future

The Founding of NORA

The New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA), formerly called the Community Improvement Agency (CIA), was created in 1968 to eliminate and prevent the spread of slums and blight in the City of New Orleans. We have been granted legal authority to:

  • Acquire real properties through negotiation, gift, or expropriation
  • Dispose of said properties by sale, lease or donation
  • Borrow money
  • Issue bonds
  • Provide security to support slum clearance and neighborhood development.

For nearly thirty years, the CIA largely remained dormant and played only a minor role in the city’s redevelopment plans. It was not until 1994 that we were provided the funding that made it possible to utilize our expropriation powers. Beginning in 1994, we also received $250,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding from the city and were asked to assist in the expropriation of blighted properties.

Hurricane Katrina

In August of 2005, the world watched as Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, making the housing abandonment and blight crisis in the city exponentially worse. Immediately following Katrina, NORA was decimated and reduced to a staff of only 3 people with no clear future funding source. All new expropriation suits were halted and the agency found itself facing an uncertain future.

A Changing Agency

In late 2006, a consensus developed that NORA’s statutory powers and enabling legislation made it a key candidate to help implement recovery initiatives. The membership of the board was expanded and a number of key individuals were added. Shortly thereafter Joseph Williams was brought on to be Executive Director of the agency and began assembling a staff of highly-trained redevelopment specialists.

This transformation extended to the agency’s mission as well. Rather than one-off blight expropriations, NORA became focused on comprehensive neighborhood redevelopment. To that end, we were charged with the disposition of the nearly 5,000 properties acquired by the state following Katrina (“LLT Properties”), and tasked with implementing the Lot Next Door ordinance. The result was that blighted property expropriations became far more targeted and designed to support neighborhood recovery projects rather than individual transfers. Examples include the Habitat for Humanity’s Musicians’ Village and Make it Right’s redevelopment of housing in the 9th Ward.

NORA also became very active in commercial redevelopment of critical corridors, including O.C. Haley Boulevard and the Gentilly Woods Shopping Center, as well as broader economic development projects such as the redevelopment of land surrounding the proposed VA hospital. More importantly, NORA developed deep relationships in neighborhoods and worked with neighborhood organizations to implement all plans in conformity with neighborhood planning efforts.

Rebirth and Revitalization.

2010 has marked the beginning of a new era at NORA. After applying for and receiving $30 million in direct funding from HUD through the NSP2 program, we are poised to revitalize housing and bring needed commercial real estate into neighborhoods. By partnering with 11 community-based organizations to administer the NSP2 funds, NORA is a community partner, focusing its efforts on all the elements – housing, commercial development, and larger scale neighborhood revitalization efforts that make our great city even greater.

Quality development and large scale revitalization doesn’t happen overnight, and it doesn’t happen without strong working relationships with organizations, businesses, neighborhoods and most importantly, citizens. NORA serves as a dedicated partner in the revitalization of New Orleans.