June 4, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Dan Turner (601) 576-2009; dturner@governor.state.ms.us
Laura Hipp (601) 576-2020; lhipp@governor.state.ms.us

Jackson, Mississippi – Governor Haley Barbour announced the completion of about 1,000 affordable housing units on the Gulf Coast with today’s opening of 120 new units at Gulfport’s Regency Way Apartments complex.

The project was administered by the Mississippi Development Authority’s (MDA) Public Housing Grant Program and funded through Mississippi’s $5.4 billion federally provided Hurricane Katrina recovery package.

“Just last week, we announced the opening of more than 260 new affordable housing units in Pascagoula, and now we have an additional 120 units open less than a week later in Gulfport,” Governor Barbour said.  “With more than 2,000 or about 2,500 planned units now either complete, under construction or about to commence construction, today’s opening is a great example of the rapid pace at which our Hurricane Katrina affordable housing construction projects are now moving along the Coast.”

The project at 1400 28th Street in Gulfport is part of a $100 million public housing recovery effort to ensure Coast residents have a variety of post-Katrina affordable housing options. South Mississippi Housing and Development Corporation, along with all Regency Way financing partners conducted an official opening ceremony today.

“Rebuilding communities from the ground up requires restoring housing stock, public infrastructure and job creation simultaneously to ensure Mississippi’s recovery remains timely for the people hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina,” Governor Barbour said.

Governor Barbour and Gulf Coast Housing Director Gerald Blessey again noted that affordable housing units being constructed through this program are vastly different than the traditional public housing units built during past decades. In appearance and construction, these units are indistinguishable from non-subsidized, market-rate units.

“These developments are designed for long-term aesthetic appeal with the residents and community in mind,” Blessey said.  “The units are intended to blend in well with their surroundings and provide people with a homes in which they can take pride.”

MDA provided more than $1 million for Regency Way’s development.

Of the more than $5.4 billion in Mississippi’s federally funded Hurricane Katrina recovery fund, more than $3 billion is dedicated to housing recovery.  Of the $3 billion, more than $2 billion has been expended.  The remaining $1 billion is being used to build more than 10,000 affordable, small rental, workforce housing and public housing units.