Affordable Housing Boast Energy Savings
SBP’s, previously named St. Bernard Project, specialty program in New Orleans provides an Opportunity Housing Program that helps low to moderate income residents become homeowners. SBP along with 
Broadmoor Construction, Eskew+Dumez+Ripple, Boston Financial, Louisiana Housing Corp., Home Bank and Toyota have joined together in building a new $7.4 million affordable housing development that will focus on energy efficiency in New Orleans. SBP and others have stepped up to meet a need that is growing and very apparent in the New Orleans area according to Zack Rosenburg, SBP’s co-founder and CEO.
“The city is not going to be whole until everyone has humane, decent housing,” Rosenburg said.
SBP and its partners will focus not only on veteran tenants but also families with low to moderate income. The ultimate goal for the project is to have a mix of both veteran and civilian families.
Located near Broad Street and Orleans Avenue on St. Peter Street, this complex is part of the St. Peter project. The St. Peter project is one of the four phase development plan for the SBP purchased land that was formerly a salvage yard.
The three-story building will house 50 apartments, a community room, 
and a wellness center. Residents will also benefit from the outdoor areas for relaxation and meditation and will be close to public transit.
The majority of the apartments will be priced from $800 – $1000 a month which is affordable rent in the New Orleans area. The average rent in New Orleans is around $1,100 a month according to RentCafe. The rental rates for the complex were based on the 2018 income estimates from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The rest will be priced around $400 – $500 a month for residents who make 30% of the median income and for Housing Authority of New Orleans vouchers.
Residents will not only benefit from affordable housing but will also benefit from energy savings. Entergy New Orleans has donated $1.1 million toward the installation of rooftop solar panels. The building will not also have rooftop solar panels but will also have energy storing batteries. The building will be considered a net zero property because it will generate all of its electricity through these energy saving methods.
“A big part of the vision was that we wanted this to be as energy efficient as possible,” said Liz McCartney, SBP’s chief operating officer, who is overseeing development.
The energy efficient building is proposed to be open this fall in time for Veterans Day 2019.
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