Fuse Project Board of Directors Visits Bayou District Foundation
Research proves that poverty is best addressed through a place-based approach which addresses the needs of neighborhoods in direct collaboration with community members. It includes solutions like building mixed-income housing, investing in equitable education, community wellness programs, and promoting private sector investment in community development. The Historic Avenue Foundation was founded to bring about solutions such as this in the Avenue community using this truly holistic approach.
In August, our board of directors had the opportunity to visit with the Bayou District Foundation in New Orleans and tour their Purpose Built Community which employs this same type of place-based approach. What this group of individuals has done for their community is nothing short of incredible. By addressing all of the determinants of poverty at once, they have seen an amazing transformation over the last 15 years with remarkable results, such as a 99% decrease in violent crime and doubling the number of individuals attending college.
The poverty rate in the Avenue community is 54.8%, which is significantly higher than our city’s average. Until all children in our poorest zip codes are afforded the same opportunities as those in our wealthiest, we cannot rest. We are committed to closing the opportunity gap. Our board was moved and inspired by seeing the progress and achievements that the Bayou District Foundation has made in the last 15 years, by the personal stories they heard, and the visible impacts on the neighborhood and surrounding area. They came back to Mobile reinvigorated and more motivated than ever to address poverty in our community.
To understand more about the Bayou District Foundation and see what a Purpose Built Community in our area could look like, take a look at this video.
More about Bayou District Foundation
Since its inception in 2006, Bayou District Foundation has led the development of a comprehensive community model that includes 685 mixed-income residential units spanning 13 city blocks in the Gentilly neighborhood of New Orleans – Columbia Parc. The Bayou District Foundation was the first organization after the East Lake Foundation in Atlanta to implement what is now called the “Purpose Built Communities Model” of neighborhood transformation – mixed-income housing, a cradle-to-college education pipeline, and community wellness. The Bayou District Foundation’s efforts helped inspire the creation of Purpose Built Communities, and consequently, similar efforts across the country. The Bayou District is one of 24 Purpose Built Communities Network members nationally.
Of the 685 households in the Columbia Parc mixed-income community, 493 households receive public housing or reduced rental rates, with 100% of community residents either employed, in vocational training, or enrolled full time in an accredited college or university. The impact is already evident with crime reduced by nearly 100%. BDF has also initiated a “cradle to college education pipeline” with the opening of an Educare New Orleans early childhood learning center in 2013. Educare New Orleans is now serving 168 Head Start eligible children ages 6 weeks to 5 years. The St. Thomas Community Healthcare clinic, which opened in 2017, provides affordable primary care, with prenatal and dental care units on-site through a partnership with March of Dimes and LSU dental school. The new KIPP Believe K-8 facility, opened next door to Educare, in March of 2019 to 750 students. Plans are also in process for grocery and drug stores.
Finally, BDF and City Park New Orleans are partnering in the building of a world-class 18-hole golf course replacing the blighted former east and west golf courses of City Park. Through this partnership with the Park, BDF will share in net income from golf operations (approximating $300,000 annually for BDF) which will support BDF’s community programs. A junior golf training center and First Tee program are part of the golf complex plan, offering area youth from all backgrounds the opportunity to access a world-class golf facility and training. BDF brings its own relationships with the PGA TOUR and the nationally renowned course designer Rees Jones to this partnership, bringing a world-class golf course to a world-renowned park.
The Bayou District was inspired by the East Lake community redevelopment in Atlanta, Georgia that has been thriving for more than 20 years. The East Lake redevelopment concept links the East Lake Golf Club and its neighboring mixed-income residential development to create a unique community synergy. By providing an “economic engine” for BDF, the City Park championship golf facility will be a sustainable funding mechanism for the adjacent Bayou District community which has undergone a complete transformation. The East Lake community model in Atlanta has maintained a level of excellence and impact for nearly 20 years reflected by drastic crime reduction rates, high employment rates, and outstanding academic achievement scores and high school graduation rates. BDF is already seeing similar results and stands as the new gold standard for other US cities seeking innovative approaches to breaking the cycle of poverty.