Groves Groundbreaking A Great Success

On Thursday, September 23, our Renaissance Neighborhood Development Corporation, a subsidiary of Volunteers of America hosted its groundbreaking ceremony for the Groves, a new housing initiative in Covington. Upon completion, The Groves will provide 94 mixed-income rental apartment homes and 35 single-family homes for purchase by first-time home buyers. It is located near the West 30's neighborhood in Covington.

Pictured, from left, Pastor Gerard Ramsey, Jeff St. Romain, Habitat, Rep. John Schroder, Jim LeBlanc, President/CEO, Volunteers of America, Senator Jack Donahue, Greg Hettrick, VP/Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas, Milton Bailey, President/LHFA, Victor Smeltz, Volunteers of America/RNDC, Robin Keegan, State of Louisiana, Office of Community Development, Covington Mayor Candace Watkins, Maureen Clary and Councilwoman Francis Dunn.

Thank you to our financial partners: Louisiana Housing Finance Agency, Louisiana Office of Community Development, First NBC Bank, First NBC Community Development LLC, St. Tammany Parish, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Living Cities, Major League Baseball Players Trust, and Entergy Charitable Foundation.

Special thanks to: Habitat for Humanity St. Tammany West, Concordia LLC, MSH Architects LLC, Scalfano Engineering Inc., Villere Town Planning Associates LLC, Donahue Favret Contractors Inc., Larry Loyd Construction Inc., Latter & Blum Property Management Inc., & Maureen Clary.

Click here to watch WWL-TV's coverage of the groundbreaking. Click here to read a Times-Picayune article about the event.

The Groves, a New Mixed-Income Housing Facility

The Groves, a new mixed-income housing facility in Covington, will consist of 94 rental housing units in a mix of one-, two-, and three- bedroom apartments. Groundbreaking will occur in the fall, with units available for lease beginning in the winter of 2011. 30 single-family homeownership opportunities will also be available. Rental housing units will be available to families and households at a variety of incomes with the market rate rents starting at $650 for a one-bedroom. Twenty of the 30 single family homes will be built by Habitat for Humanity St. Tammany West. For more information, visit RNDC's website, http://www.rndcnola.org/.