Commercially-Zoned Vacant Lot Temporary Activation

The New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA) is a neighborhood revitalization organization focused on housing and commercial development efforts to rebuild the City of New Orleans. After Hurricane Katrina, NORA acquired nearly 5,000 vacant lots from the State of Louisiana, 2,000 of which have been sold for residential or green space developments. NORA tasked the Capstone team with developing a temporary activation strategy for approximately 100 of the remaining lots, focusing on revenue generation and blight reduction uses as allowed under the city’s current zoning and legislative framework. The Capstone team examined development demand for the commercially and industrially- zoned lots, researching best practices and economic development strategies from other cities to determine the most appropriate locations for economic development activity. The team then produced an economic development strategy which will be implemented in the summer of 2014 through a Request for Proposal or application process.