Iberville Public Housing (former) – New Orleans LA

Description

The Iberville Projects public housing was the third of six low-rent public housing developments in New Orleans funded by the United States Housing Act of 1937. The Housing Authority of New Orleans was the first housing administration approved in the US under the Housing Act (Adams, 2014). The 75 building complex resembled rowhouses, and were constructed of brick exteriors with tile roofs, chimneys, and galleries with iron columns and decorative cast iron railing, typical of other New Orleans style architecture. One, two, and three bedroom apartments made up the 858 units completed in 1941. The architects were Herbert A. Benson, George A. Christy, and William E. Spink and the builder was J. A. Jones Construction Company, awarded with a low bid of $2,933,900. Total cost of the project was $5,500,000. Iberville was closed after Hurricane Katrina, even though numerous reports indicated there was no significant damage. In 2013, 60 buildings were demolished to begin rebuilding in the area. However, 16 buildings and the Administration Building from the original construction were saved through advocacy and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2015. The buildings now are part of the development for Bienville Basin, constructed through a Choice Neighborhoods Initiative. The Iberville Historic District contains the last of the New Deal built public housing in New Orleans still extant.