$335,000 for the 67 homes still occupied on the old dump.
The 67 remaining owners of homes in the Gordon Plaza subdivision have been offered a median price of $335,000 apiece for their properties, which sit atop an old city dump that was declared a Superfund site nearly three decades ago. If all of them were to take the buyout, it would cost the city about $21 million. At the beginning of 2022, the city set aside $35 million to pay for residents’ homes, based on a study into housing and relocation costs conducted by Tulane researchers. The new valuations come two months after the City Council allowed Residents of Gordon Plaza, an activist group, to select a new appraiser. Members of the group had criticized Thorns Consulting, the appraiser first hired by the council, over his methodology. The group chose Chris Baker of the firm ARC Appraisals. Gordon Plaza, a subdivision in the Desire area, was built in the late 1970s on top of the old Agriculture Street Landfill, which closed in 1958. The site was declared by a Superfund site by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1994.
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Today no one would buy so this is a guess on the price.
While homes in Gordon Plaza have little value today because of their location — recent sales have mostly been for less than $100,000 — appraisers have been trying to approximate what they’d be worth had they been built in neighborhoods that were not built on top of landfills. Jim Thorns of Thorns Consulting, the first appraiser, used new homes in Gentilly Woods and Pontchartrain Park as a basis for comparison. ARC Appraisals used properties in a wider swath of neighborhoods. Baker finished appraising all 67 properties in the subdivision in March. The properties include 62 homes and five vacant lots, the latter of which were all appraised at under $100,000. Most of the properties with homes on them were appraised near the median price of $335,000, but there were a few outliers. The top appraisal came in at $560,000, while the lowest was $140,000. The home appraised at $560,000 is located on Abundance Street and is owned by Sheena Dedmond, who initially volunteered to have her home valued by Thorns. He estimated the value of the 2,898-square-foot home at $358,000, sparking protests from residents who felt the number was too low. At the other end of the spectrum, the home valued at $140,000 is located on Gordon Plaza Drive. Orleans Parish Assessor’s Office records say it is about 1,500 square feet. That property and the one on Abundance each sold for a little over $40,000 in 1981, according to property records. But the house on Abundance Street underwent extensive renovation after Hurricane Katrina, according to ARC Appraisals. The home on Gordon Plaza Drive does not appear to have been fixed up since Katrina and needs extensive work, the appraisal says.
There was an administrative mistake hurting a couple of residents in the short term.
At a meeting Monday, Residents of Gordon Plaza reported that three of the 67 offer letters did not match the appraisal. Representatives of the city’s law department said they would work to correct the mistake and produce new letters. Residents still have questions about how their moving costs will be paid. They’ve asked the city to provide an additional $25,000 per homeowner to help with the cost of cleaning or replacing furniture, moving belongings and preparing new homes for move-in. They cited 15 separate expenses they expect to face when relocating. “There was an emphasis on owners avoiding having to seek reimbursement,” said Angela Kinlaw of Residents of Gordon Plaza. “The reason people are going to need reimbursement is because they’re going to immediately need the money to do the next thing.” However, according to Council member Helena Moreno, the city by law can only pay up to $1,900 in up-front relocation expenses. City Council members stressed that there isn’t a limit on how much they can pay residents back for relocation costs they incur. The council has said it will provide money to the nonprofit Total Community Action, which will use it to pay moving companies selected by residents. The city has also promised to distribute rent payments directly to landlords chosen by residents. The next meeting of the Gordon Plaza Task Force is set for Friday in the City Council’s chambers.
Getting to the end of a long saga.