RDA ready to sell 105 properties to nonprofits

The East Baton Rouge Redevelopment Authority plans to sell 105 parcels to four nonprofits for residential development. James Andermann, real estate director for the RDA, identified the nonprofits: Habitat for Humanity (nine parcels), the Mid City Redevelopment Alliance (seven), the Jarvis Green Foundation (35), and the National Housing & Community Development Organization (54). The total appraised value of the lots is $693,200. All of the lots have been adjudicated for years, even decades, Andermann says, and have been transferred by the city-parish to the authority’s land bank. “We now have an efficient turnkey program to be able to take adjudicated properties, clean the title, and provide clean policies to a third party for them to be able to build new construction,” Andermann says. The goal is removing blight and returning properties to viable uses. The properties primarily are in the RDA’s community improvement and special project areas, including Mid City, Old South Baton Rouge, Valley Park, Scotlandville, Zion City, Melrose East and the Choctaw Drive corridor. The RDA estimates that a minimum of 58 housing units will be constructed, although the number could be higher, as some of the sites may be large enough to accommodate multifamily projects. The target market will be people who make no more than 80% of the median income. The RDA’s board of commissioners will consider the sales at its next meeting, 9 a.m. on Feb. 19 at 801 North Boulevard. —David Jacobs