A home from Make it Right, Brad Pitt's highly publicized program aimed at getting Hurricane Katrina-displaced residents back in the 9th Ward through sustainable, affordable housing, might just be hanging out on Craigslist, waiting for just anyone to rent it.
We saw this ad for a "high tech home" in the 9th Ward resembling homes designed by BNIM Architects for the Make it Right Foundation. While there's no address on the listing, a Google Street View map has this very similar looking house at 1617 Reynes St., which, according to the New Orleans Assessor's office online database, was at one point owned by the Make it Right Foundation.
The three-bedroom, two bathroom house, which boasts solar panels and a tankless hot water heater, is available to rent for $900 a month. A few years ago the foundation started putting up MIR homes up for sale on its website (currently there's another BNIM design available), deviating from its original intention by opening up to buyers who didn't live in the neighborhood before Katrina.
The program has run into some other problems since launching in the 9th Ward. Most recently, Make it Right sued the timber company that provided the foundation with defective lumber that made the homes "rot" and become "unlivable."
· $900 / 3br - 3BR 2B High tech home for rent/lease (ninth ward) [Craigslist]
· Brad Pitt foundation sues manufacturer over allegedly defective wood [The Advocate]
· If You Rebuild It, They Might Not Come [New Republic]
· All Make it Right coverage [Curbed NOLA]