Prompted by the Greater New Orleans Urban Water Plan, many New Orleans developers have "living in water" in mind in their latest projects (like this Bywater condo project and this pocket park in Metairie). What may help projects like those along will be a $141 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development—although that number is less than what the city was hoping to get.
The grant is from the HUD's National Disaster Resilience Challenge, to which Mayor Mitch Landrieu submitted a half-billion-dollar plan for stormwater retention improvements across the city. New Orleans was among the five cities and eight states to receive grant money through the program.
It's not known yet where all the money will go, but one project that has been made public is the buzzwordy Gentilly Resilience District, which aims to create "resilient safe and equitable communities of opportunity," whatever that means.
· New Orleans to get $141 million grant to improve handling of stormwater [The Advocate]
· City of New Orleans wins $141 million to build Gentilly "resilience district" [NOLA.com]
· Old Metairie Pocket Park Aims to Become a Model for Rainwater Retention [Curbed NOLA]
· MK Red's 32HUNDRED Gets HDLC Approval, Has New Renderings [Curbed NOLA]