Only SIX of the homes Brad Pitt built for survivors of Hurricane Katrina are in livable condition
Mold, termites rotting wood. It’s the Pitts! Only SIX of the 109 affordable homes Brad Pitt built for $26.8M and sold to survivors of Hurricane Katrina for $150,000 are in livable condition – and none are built to withstand NOLA’s climate
Just six of the 109 affordable homes Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation built in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina are still in livable conditionA majority of the homes are riddled with construction-related problems that have led to mold, termites, rotting wood and floodingSix of the homes are now vacant because of the mold, rot and structural issuesTwo have also been demolished because of severe mold, and New Orleans city officials are now seizing one of the properties as a ‘safety hazard’Residents have sued the organization, but it has not yet made the necessary repairs – and it appears to have become defunct
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Just six of the 109 affordable homes Brad Pitt‘s Make It Right Foundation built for low-income residents in New Orleans following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 are still in livable condition nearly 20 years later.
A vast majority of the homes, which were built for $26.8 million, are riddled with construction-related problems that have led to mold, termites, rotting wood and flooding, urban geographer Judith Keller wrote for Market Watch, and as of early 2022, six of the homes are vacant because of mold, rot and other structural issues after they were built without essential needs for the city’s sub-tropical climate. They were sold to residents for a discounted $150,000.
Two of the homes have now been demolished because of severe mold, and the city is seizing one of the properties, calling it a ‘safety hazard.’
Photos from the area show that many of the houses that are still standing have rusted roofs and visible water damage to the sides of the home, while many lots remain vacant nearly 20 years after the storm. And even in the houses that people can live in, the wooden structures are starting to collapse, Keller told DailyMail.com on Tuesday.
‘Things are getting worse,’ she said, ‘and things that aren’t getting worse are staying the same. But there is very little to no improvement.’
The situation has left many residents fearing for their health and safety, with some claiming they are starting to become ill from the constant mold.
‘There is just no turning this off,’ one resident, only identified as ‘Harry,’ told Keller. ‘Sometimes I think I’m sitting on a time bomb in this house.’
Others have said they are always ‘on edge,’ describing the situation as ‘very stressful’ and saying they feel they’ve been ‘taken advantage of on the biggest scale.’
Several of the residents have sued Make It Right, but the organization has not yet resolved these issues and has stopped assisting residents. It now appears to be defunct, with Keller reporting that Make It Right officials were seen moving out of their office in the neighborhood last month.
Residents of the Lower Ninth Ward are suing Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation for its shoddy workmanship in building 109 homes in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
Houses built by Make It Right following Hurricane Katrina have visible rust on the roofs 20 years later
Many of the houses also appear to be dilapidated with clear structural issues, and damage to the sides of the homes
One home appeared to have only its foundation beams constructed. It’s unclear whether it was a project that was abandoned or one that had been damaged
The deck of one of the homes in the Lower Ninth Ward appears to have water damage rotting out the wood
Water damage from the strong storms in the area has caused mold and structural damage to many of the homes
Even the houses that remain structurally sound show evidence that the wooden structures are starting to deteriorate
Blue tarp hangs from the roof of one of the buildings in an apparent effort to protect if from further water damage
The office for the Make It Right Foundation in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans remains vacant after officials moved out last month
Pitt’s foundation sought to build 150 homes in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans that were storm-safe, solar-powered and ‘green’ for the price of $150,000 in 2007, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the area, resulting in many homes being lost.
More than 100 green Make It Right houses were eventually built between 2008 and 2015. The organization reported spending $26.8 million on the project, which also included a community garden in the city’s Lower Ninth Ward and regular meetings for the new homeowners.
The architects who created these homes tried to make them green and sustainable with safe and reusable materials, clean water and renewable energy. All of the homes also had solar panels and energy-efficient heating and cooling systems.
But many of the houses lacked rain gutters, overhangs, waterproof painting or covered beams – all of which are necessary to withstand the city’s subtropical climate and heavy rainfall – especially as the Lower Ninth Ward is below sea-level and has been hammered by hurricanes in the past.
As a result, the homes suffered from heavy water damage, which brought in termites and rotted wood.
For one resident, identified by Keller as ‘Hanna,’ those problems began only eight months after she moved into her first home, saying it ‘was completely in shambles.’
The house’s flat roof could not hold up in the heavy rains, causing massive water intrusion and subsequent termite infestation and mold.
Hanna now struggles with health problems caused by toxic mold, and says she does not know how this issue could be appropriately resolved.
‘I would like to say that there is always a silver lining, but with this situation, I really don’t see a silver lining because it rally changed a lot of my plans that I had for myself in life,’ she told Keller.
‘Harry’ also said he had to move out of his home during major renovations that did not resolve the issues he faced, while others said they completed the repairs themselves because they got tired of waiting for Make It Right to do the necessary repairs.
‘They kind of got a second chance to make it wrong, not make it right again,’ Harry said. ‘They made it wrong twice.’
An aerial view of the Lower Ninth Ward, where the Make It Right foundation built 109 affordable homes
One house that residents still live in had obvious rust and damage to the side walls
Several residents have expressed fears for their health from the severe water damage to their homes
The houses were sold to residents for about $150,000 and were designed to be sustainable with safe and reusable materials, clean water and renewable energy. All of the homes also had solar panels and energy-efficient heating and cooling systems
Several of the homes are now vacant after years of dealing with water damage and structural problems
One home appeared to be boarded up, as city officials have declared a house ‘a ‘safety hazard’
Many of the houses lacked rain gutters and overhangs, which are necessary for the city’s major storms
Only six of the 109 homes built by Make It Right following Hurricane Katrina are still structurally sound for people to live in
The houses were all built in the city’s lower class Lower Ninth Ward, which does not have any businesses in the area
Actor Brad Pitt founded Make It Right, which sought to build affordable housing for survivors of Hurricane Katrina. He is seen here working with a crew on one of the houses in 2007
The Lower Ninth Ward, a predominantly black and Hispanic part of the city, has long suffered from deterioration even before Hurricane Katrina, Keller told DailyMail.com, and residents had already been mistrustful of outsiders before Make It Right came into the neighborhood.
‘There’s not much action in the street, no one sitting on their front porches,’ Keller said. ‘People try to stay to themselves.
‘You cannot just go there and then a few years later drop those residents,’ she said, noting: ‘There’s not much of the community left because people have become very distrustful.’
In 2018, the foundation sued the principal architect saying his designs were defective.
The complaint claims Make It Right ‘fraudulently deprived homeowners of their right to pursue legal actions under Louisiana’s New Home Warranty Act’ because the charity knew about issues with the homes’ building materials and designs – but never alerted homeowners.
It also says that the plaintiffs’ homes were ‘deficiently constructed and built’ with ‘defective products’ that led to damage such as the growth of mold and air quality problems due to improper ventilation.
The complaint adds that Make It Right arranged for engineer inspections of the home ‘allegedly brought in specifically to render a report on the state of the Make It Right homes.’ But homeowners were never given access to those reports.
The lawsuit asserts that engineers found issues in the home but the charity didn’t inform homeowners of the problems, citing a portion of the foundation’s 2013 tax filing which accounts for $4.3 million in ‘warranty and repair liabilities.’
It also adds that Make It Right gave homeowners a nondisclosure agreement and documents that bound them to arbitration before agreeing to making repairs.
But the lawsuit says that the charity didn’t explain these documents to the homeowners, ‘fraudulently’ obtaining signatures ‘on agreements that would deprive homeowners of important legal rights while the homeowners are under duress.’
The complaint adds the homeowners noticed problems with the home as early as 2013 but they thought Make It Right would sort out the repairs.
‘The homeowners are gravely concerned that their homes, which suffer serious structural problems, will not last as long as their mortgages,’ the complaint says.
The Lower Ninth Ward is below sea level and was devastated in the flooding from Hurricane Katrina
Rubble was seen from the houses in the Lower Ninth Ward district of New Orleans following the storm
Entire neighborhoods were flooded and destroyed in the hurricane, with the Lower Ninth Ward remaining in flood waters a month after the storm hit
An uprooted tree crushed a car in front of a home in the Lower Ninth Ward from the storm
In the aftermath, Make It Right started building the homes, like the one seen here
The Pitt-founded organization has also been sued by a bank, according to KTBS, and Make It Right now appears to be defunct.
The organization failed to file a 990 form, required by the IRS for nonprofits, since 2018, Keller found, and its website has become defunct. Additionally, the phone number it included in its 2018 IRS paperwork no longer works.
At the time, the paperwork said, it was spending more on legal services than on construction and maintenance, and in the years since, Make It Right has discontinued a similar affordable housing project in Kansas City, leaving empty lots in limbo.
‘It’s not going to be an easy situation,’ Keller told DailyMail.com. ‘My only hope is that the lawsuits bring some resolution, some justice for the residents.’
Still, Keller writes in her column, some say they still believe Make It Right’s founder had good intentions.
‘I don’t blame Brad Pitt,’ one man said. ‘He had a vision to build low-income houses and get people back in the Lower Ninth Ward.’
