Today, the keys to the first of the homes were provided to its new owners.
Musicians' Village
Harry Connick, Jr., Branford and Ellis Marsalis Partner with Habitat to Build a Musicians' Village in New Orleans' Upper 9th Ward
link to images and maps of Musicians Village...
http://www.habitat-nola.org/files/Mu...e_PressKit.pdf
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita forced many musicians to flee New Orleans. Jazz, blues, Dixieland and other genres that are the city's musical score, cannot return until the musicians return, and many have lost their homes.Habitat for Humanity International and New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity, working with Harry Connick Jr., and Branford Marsalis, honorary chairs of Operation Home Delivery, seek to change this. Plans announced last December allowed for the construction of a "Musicians' Village." Operation Home Delivery is Habitat for Humanity International's hurricane rebuilding program and this Musicians' Village is one of the many projects along the Gulf Coast.
The Musicians' Village, conceived by Connick and Marsalis, will consist of 81 Habitat-constructed homes for displaced New Orleans musicians. Its centerpiece will be the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music, dedicated to the education and development of homeowners and others who will live nearby. On January 9, 2006 we acquired eight acres of land in the Upper 9th Ward where the Musicians' Village will be located. In addition to the homes in the tract, plans call for building at least 150 other homes in the surrounding neighborhood. Construction began in March, marking the first large scale rebuilding plans in New Orleans.