Governor Haley Barbour Announces New Affordable Housing Units

GOVERNOR HALEY BARBOUR ANNOUNCES 128 NEW AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS OFFICIALLY OPEN THURSDAY

Jackson, Mississippi – An additional 128 affordable housing units officially open this week in D’Iberville, the latest in a series of such projects helping South Mississippi families recover from Hurricane Katrina.

Governor Haley Barbour said the Estates at Juan de Cuevas Apartment Homes is the latest project partly funded through Mississippi’s $5.4 federally-sourced Katrina recovery package, secured by Governor Barbour and administered through the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) Disaster Recovery Division.

“More than 1,000 new affordable housing units have opened since spring, and more are on the way,” Governor Barbour said. “As we approach the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, I want to reiterate this is all part of a $3.8 billion commitment to restoring housing stock along the Coast, ensuring that South Mississippians can continue rebuilding their lives after the worst natural disaster in American history.”

The project is a partnership between MDA, Region VIII Housing Authority, the South Mississippi Housing and Development Corporation, Realtex Development Corporation, and SunAmerica Affordable Housing Partners.

“MDA’s $1.7 grant for this project is part of a $36 million investment Governor Barbour and MDA made to help rebuild Region VIII’s affordable housing offerings post Katrina,” said Gerald Blessey, MDA’s Gulf Coast Housing Director. “The Housing Data Project – an independent local housing study released earlier this year – indicated a need for deep subsidy rental, and this project and others like it are helping to address that need.”

Though administered through the public housing authority, Estates at Juan de Cuevas resemble market rate units, designed to complement the surrounding community and provide a quality living space in which residents can take pride.

An official opening ceremony is scheduled for Thursday August 13, at 11 a.m. at the Juan de Cuevas Apartment Homes site: 10472 Gorenflo Road in D’Iberville.