Overview
- Lee Adrion Company bought the 263-unit Willows at public auction earlier this year for about $3.75 million and plans a roughly $13 million, privately funded renovation that managers say will begin next month and run about two years.
- The owners say security is the immediate priority and plan visible security presence within 30 days along with resident pre-screening and a zero-tolerance policy to stop the drug and violent crime that plagued the complex.
- Relocation is already under way with a $50,000 fund that managers say has helped more than 100 moves, but about 50 units remain occupied and tenants report a near-term move-out expectation and anxiety about possible homelessness.
- The rebuild will proceed building-by-building with several structures gutted to the studs, and managers say they will reconstruct two buildings for Housing Authority of New Orleans residents so displaced tenants have on-site housing options during the work.
- The Willows has a long record of violent crime, drug activity, bats and severe decay under prior owners, and the project's outcome could improve neighborhood safety and housing stock if relocations, security measures and city oversight prevent displacement and return units to service.