NEW ORLEANS — The old Naval Base in the Bywater is getting millions of dollars in federal funding to help rehabilitate the dilapidated building.
The base has sat vacant since 2011 and has been a source of fires, squatters, and crime. It's getting $20 million to help fix up the 25-acre complex, in hopes of turning it into mixed-income housing.
Earlier this year, developer Joe Jaeger told residents that the lack of state and federal funding has been holding up the redevelopment process.
“The developer has been actively working on it for 7 or 8 years,” said Jeffrey Schwartz, Director of Economic Development back in January.
“We know that the site has been a nuisance over time, and we’ve worked really closely with the development team and the community to get to a spot where the site is safe and secure, but we know that we have to get the property back into commerce.”
This latest grant is a big step towards making that project a reality.
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