With West Jefferson facing a number of economic and social difficulties, the Jefferson Parish Council has commissioned a study to determine the root cause and reset the community's direction. GCR & Associates will direct the six-month process, which will include exit interviews of people who left and input from residents about their likes and dislikes of the community. Parish...
With West Jefferson facing a number of economic and social difficulties, the Jefferson Parish Council has commissioned a study to determine the root cause and reset the community's direction. GCR & Associates will direct the six-month process, which will include exit interviews of people who left and input from residents about their likes and dislikes of the community.
Parish Council Chairman Chris Roberts said several developments, including the impending closure of Avondale shipyard, the struggles of Stonebridge and Timberlane Country clubs and the relocation of Carnival krewes, have forced the need for the assessment. On a personal level, Roberts cited how 80 percent of his graduating class from Archbishop Shaw High School in Marrero moved away to other states, the north shore and St. Charles Parish.
"I think that it has become obvious we have challenges,'' he said. "Deep-rooted institutions ... retail, social and academic have run into some difficult times.''
He pointed to Fountain Park Centre's difficulty retaining retailers along the busy Manhattan Boulevard corridor in Harvey. Salem Lutheran School in Gretna closed, and Christ the King Church in Terrytown no longer holds its annual fair, one of the largest on the West Bank.
Home prices per square foot have fallen post-Katrina and houses typically stay on the market longer than elsewhere in the New Orleans area, Roberts said. And the real estate market's activity seems to be driven by residents who are upgrading their homes, not new people moving in, he said.
"When you look at zip codes from a region-wide perspective, the area that has lacked in the housing recovery has been the West Bank,'' he said.
GCR chief executive Greg Rigamer concurred. "The economy hasn't been as good. Property values are struggling a little bit,'' he said.
But Rigamer observed the West Bank also has suffered from natural and man-made disasters that have destabilized it. Lower Jefferson communities of Jean Lafitte, Crown Point, Barataria and Grand Isle have faced numerous storms, starting with Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the fallout of the BP oil spill in 2010, he said.
"There been a number of factors that have converged that resulted in a less stable community,'' he said.
In addition to survey and public outreach, the study will look at quality-of-life issues and areas that require immediate attention and suggest where investment will reap the biggest benefits, Rigamer said. Once the study and recommendations are completed, change won't happen overnight and will be difficult, he said.
Kenner engaged in a similar undertaking in 2012. GCR found declines in its population, wealth and college-educated residents and an increase in housing vacancies. The final report yielded 74 recommendations, including creation of a social media campaign.
Roberts said the timing is right for the West Bank to undergo the process and to position the community to take advantage of anticipated growth in offshore drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
"There are opportunities that exist for us to expand on the West Bank from Plaquemines and Jefferson and even Lafourche, cooperating together to capitalize on the eastern gulf,'' Roberts said.
The assessment, Rigamer said, sends the message to the West Bank residents that parish leaders, including Roberts and councilmen Ricky Templet, Mark Spears Jr. and Elton Lagasse, are concerned about the West Bank's future.
"They are very interested in trying to identify the problems and address them. It's not easy,'' Rigamer said. "I think when people believe that leaders care, it sets a more viable tone to stay, to invest. Nobody wants to be the only one who cares.''