Housing advocates and the Louisiana Housing Lab presented a small, neighborhood-focused homeownership project to the New Iberia City Council and asked the city for administrative support and fee waivers to complete the funding match.

Anat Zahneman, a Hopkins Street resident and local business owner who has organized neighborhood advocates, introduced the project and said developers are seeking applicants for four newly built homes the group plans to construct near the intersection of Field Street and Corinne Avenue in the West End.

Corey Saft, executive director of the Louisiana Housing Lab — a certified community housing development organization (CHDO) affiliated with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette School of Architecture — described the project as a four-unit for-sale development expected to cost roughly $1 million. Saft said the Louisiana Housing Corporation (the state entity that administers federal and state affordable-housing funding) had cleared the site after environmental review and that the project is “largely funded by Louisiana Housing Corporation.”

The proposed homes are three-bedroom, two-bath units built to higher construction standards — Saft said the project seeks fortified roofs and, if eligible, a “Fortified Gold” approach that can reduce insurance costs for owners. He said the program uses an income cap based on household size; as an example, he said a family of five would qualify only if gross annual household income is $53,700 or less under the program’s limits.

Saft explained the program’s resale and assistance structure: the nonprofit provides a soft second mortgage that reduces monthly payments and that is forgiven after the buyer lives in the home for 15 years, keeping the houses affordable without disrupting neighborhood comparables.

The presenters asked the council to help in two ways: (1) assist with outreach to identify qualified buyers who meet the Louisiana Housing Corporation’s income and mortgage-ability requirements; and (2) consider waiving building permit and inspection fees (building, mechanical, electrical and plumbing fees and final inspections) so the fee waiver can serve as part of the local match the CHDO must document to close the financing gap. Saft said the nonprofit is selling a separate property in Lafayette and expects to transfer nearly $100,000 toward the match; the city waiver would reduce the remaining cash needed.

Saft and Zahneman described a timeline: the project has completed environmental clearance, the group is recruiting applicants now, they hope to close on site work and begin construction toward the end of summer, and they plan to build all four units simultaneously with an estimated six-month construction window after closing. Saft said having prospective buyers identified at or near closing expedites the Louisiana Housing Corporation process.

Council members and staff discussed whether the city could help identify adjudicated properties, support streetscape improvements already planned for the West End, and consider city-owned parcels that might help scale the program. The city indicated staff would assemble maps of adjudicated properties and include the project on the list of neighborhood block initiatives to coordinate complementary repairs and roofing work funded through other local programs.

No formal council vote or city funding decision was recorded at the meeting; the presenters left flyers and contact information for prospective buyers and partners.