For Immediate Release  
August 28, 2025  
Contact: Douglas Robinson  
[email protected] [email protected]  
(202) 288-2139  

NeighborWorks® America Celebrates Groundbreaking of Final Phase at Faubourg Lafitte 

Washington, D.C. — August 28, 2025 NeighborWorks® America today joined Providence Community Housing, residents and local partners in celebrating the groundbreaking of Phase VII at Faubourg Lafitte in New Orleans. This final phase of redevelopment will deliver 51 affordable rental homes for very low- and low-income families. The development honors the neighborhood’s history while shaping its future. 

The project includes the rehabilitation of the historic Lafitte building with six one-bedroom apartments and the addition of 45 new homes across single-family houses and duplexes. Once complete, Phase VII will mark the conclusion of a years-long effort to transform the former Lafitte public housing site into Faubourg Lafitte, a vibrant community of choice. 

“Every community should be a place of opportunity,” said Marietta Rodriguez, president & CEO of NeighborWorks America. “Faubourg Lafitte is a powerful example of what happens when residents, local organizations and partners work together with determination. Providence Community Housing has shown that building housing is not just about bricks and mortar — it’s about building futures.” 

Providence Community Housing, a member of the NeighborWorks network, has completed more than 1,700 homes and apartments across New Orleans. Its leadership in the Faubourg Lafitte redevelopment reflects the goals of NeighborWorks America’s national visibility campaign, Creating Homes, Building America, which underscores the connection between affordable homes and stronger, more resilient communities. 

“Resident leadership has been at the heart of Faubourg Lafitte from the beginning,” Rodriguez added. “Just as Dorothy Mae Richardson, a Pittsburgh resident, galvanized her neighbors to secure better housing nearly 50 years ago, residents like Emelda Paul have guided this redevelopment with persistence and vision. Their voices remind us why this work matters.” 

“NeighborWorks was always there for us — working alongside us, providing funding, and helping us stay alive,” said Terri North, president and CEO of Providence Housing. “I don’t know if Providence would be here today without NeighborWorks.”

Funding for Lafitte includes support from the city of New Orleans, the Housing Authority of New Orleans, Finance New Orleans, Home Bank, the Louisiana Housing Corporation and Enterprise Community Investments, among others. Construction is expected to be completed in 2026. 

For more information on NeighborWorks America and its mission to create opportunities for people to live in affordable homes, improve their lives and strengthen their communities, visit neighborworks.org. 

About NeighborWorks America 
For more than 45 years, Neighborhood Reinvestment Corp., a national, nonpartisan nonprofit known as NeighborWorks America, has strived to make every community a place of opportunity. Our network of excellence includes nearly 250 nonprofits in every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and on Native lands. NeighborWorks offers grant funding, peer exchange, technical assistance, evaluation tools and access to best-in-class training as the nation's leading trainer of housing and community development professionals. NeighborWorks network organizations provide residents in their communities with affordable homes, owned and rented; financial counseling and coaching; community building through resident engagement; and collaboration in the areas of health, employment and education.