Resettlement of Pecan Acres

Franklin worked with LA OCD-DRU to develop and deploy the first-ever buyout program in Louisiana, which included two communities: Silverleaf in Ascension Parish and Pecan Acres in Pointe Coupee Parish.

Pecan Acres faced repeated flooding issues over a 17-year period, which decreased home values and reduced the quality of life for the residents, most of whom could not make the necessary repairs to their home after each flooding event.  In 2022, the residents began relocating into a newly built community on higher, safer ground that was designed and built using CDBG-DR funding.

On this project, the Franklin team:

• Developed and led monthly community-wide meetings for the anticipated residents of the new community so they could receive real-time project updates and inquiry responses.
• Provided case management to coordinate document collection, which allowed verification of program eligibilty and coordination of navigation of title issue resolutions.
• Worked with the architect and build team to coordinate and facilitate design charrettes to gain resident input into the layout of the new community and the style of the homes.
• Assisted in coordination with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service program to return impacted areas to greenspace.  
• Facilitated forward progress on legal issue resolutions for homeowners with the third-party legal team.

Franklin’s team also provided strategic process and policy development services from inception to completion on this resettlement project, the statewide buyout program (first of its kind), and a third community-specific buyout program. As the projects moved into implementation, the Franklin team provided direct case management services to successfully drive these into reality.

Thirty nine of 40 households in Pecan Acres agreed to participate in the buyout or relocation process. Of those, 22 chose to relocate to safer ground elsewhere, while the remainder chose to participate in the new community. As of January 2024, all those that elected to move to the new community have closed on new quality homes built on higher ground two miles from where they lived previously in a community called Audubon Estates.

Every homeowner who elected to do so received no cost wrap around financial counseling services to evaluate the carrying costs of their new home and ensure they will be able maintain their new home. In celebration of the new community, Governor John Bel Edwards joined in a housewarming celebration with residents as the final homes were completed.