Time and costs in affordable housing
Description
Affordable housing has been a predominant issue in New Orleans. The demand of affordable housing units in the city far exceeds the supply available. HousingNOLA established the demand of 33,600 of affordable housing opportunities in New Orleans. There are various challenges to increasing the supply of affordable housing from project scale, design and construction, complexity of financing, building regulations, and land use policies. Moreover, funding available for affordable housing at the federal and state level have negatively impacted developer's willingness to pursue this project while forcing the developer to create more with less. These challenges manifest themselves in additional costs and time. In partnership with HousingNOLA, the investigation revolves on how construction costs in affordable development could be reduced to increase the supply to meet the demand. First, the investigation focused on clarifying if construction costs were high in the City of New Orleans. In addition, it identified factor that increased construction costs within New Orleans. Thirdly, through the study of new building technologies, provide alternative construction methodology with the potential to create more affordable housing units. Lastly, propose recommendations for next steps in the creation of affordable housing in New Orleans to HousingNOLA.