The PPDC seeks to assist displaced residents–60% of whom were elderly–return home after Hurricane Katrina. With the help of black businesses including SRP Development, an Ohio-based construction company, the group will demolish 300 water-logged, wind-damaged homes, and build 350 LEED-certified homes.
The residences will be built to withstand 60 mph winds and will feature flood elevation and geothermal heating and cooling. They will also be given a Home Energy Rating, a guideline that measures energy efficiency. It is expected that all of the homes will be complete in five to six years and will cost $115 million.
“It makes so much sense to build a green home, especially in neighborhoods that are not high income, because after you build the home the house just keeps on giving back through energy efficiency, lower water and lower energy bills,†says Jackson, the first black director of the EPA, who spent her childhood and adolescent years in the community.
For more information about Pontchartrain Park, visit its Website.
— Marcia Wade Talbert