It’s been 20 years since Hurricane Katrina forever changed the landscape of New Orleans. Entire neighborhoods have transformed into nearly unrecognizable versions of what they were before the storm. Local realtor Michael Verderosa, who holds degrees in city planning and historic architecture, points to some sections of the city that have been deeply revitalized in the years since Katrina damaged much of New Orleans.
“Extended families were displaced long-term in the days after the storm and a tremendous amount of them never returned,” Verderosa noted. “This left a glut of housing stock, or in some cases, recently cleared vacant lots, that were available to new buyers, developers, and contractors. That changed the demographic makeup of many of our historic neighborhoods,” he went on to add.
Verderosa pointed to the influx of youth groups who came to the region to volunteer in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and noted that many of those young people decided to stay in New Orleans to build lives of their own here. The vast amount of vacant housing bought up by those transplants moving to the Crescent City ultimately changed the complexion of many older New Orleans neighborhoods. “Those post-Katrina transplants brought fresh energy and investment to many areas of the city. I think many of them fell in love with the character of New Orleans (as many of us have) and wanted to be a part of rebuilding it,” the realtor points out.
Beyond demographic shifts and rebuilt housing, the business landscape has seen quite an overhaul in the decades since Katrina. Verderosa noted that the business landscape was actually much tougher in the years before the storm shook up the region. “I always think of the Freret Corridor as a prime example of the tremendous successes that can be made when like-minded, business oriented neighbors come together and invest. Oak Street and St. Claude are other areas that can be noted for the same reasons to a lesser extent,” he emphasized.
Ultimately, it seems that those who specifically pointed to New Orleans as the place they wanted to be after the storm have invested their time, efforts, and money in revitalizing the area. New houses, new businesses, and new faces have abounded in the years since Hurricane Katrina.