On Monday, Mayor Helena Moreno said her administration has finally found a way to unlock $1.6 million in general‑obligation bond funding for Desire Community Housing Corporation, a move aimed at jump‑starting long‑stalled work on Desire Square in the Desire neighborhood. The cash is intended to help deliver a long‑promised multipurpose center that community leaders have pitched for years, with plans for a clinic, pharmacy, grocery options, nonprofit space and the headquarters for Desire Community Housing. City Council signed off on a cooperative endeavor agreement for the project in 2025, but the money had not actually been appropriated until now.
The mayor's office says the money will come from the city's general‑obligation bonds and will complete a commitment the council approved last year, according to a press release from the City of New Orleans. Council records show the ordinance authorizing the Cooperative Endeavor Agreement (Calendar No. 35,170) passed in 2025, and the official minutes include the vote and related materials in the City Council minutes. The administration said the move should push the long‑planned project closer to actual construction.
“For years, the people of Desire have heard promises about what this development would bring to their community,” Moreno said in a statement from the City of New Orleans. “My administration was determined to find a way to deliver on that commitment,” she added. Chief Administrative Officer Joseph Giarrusso III noted that city leaders had prioritized the project when they served together on the council, underscoring that this has been on the local to‑do list for a while.
What's planned for Desire Square
The cooperative agreement describes Desire Square as a single‑story, multi‑tenant center expected to host a health clinic, pharmacy, grocery store, space for nonprofit organizations and educational programming, and the headquarters for Desire Community Housing Corporation. The council file also includes a provision for a 30‑year city lease for a police substation on the site as part of the public‑service package, and officials have pitched the development as a neighborhood hub rather than a one‑off building.
Architect Trapolin‑Peer lists the design at roughly 48,346 square feet, while earlier permit reporting described a roughly 42,000‑square‑foot build, figures that reflect ongoing design and permitting work rather than a walk‑back of the project. City Council minutes and design materials spell out those uses, and Trapolin‑Peer lists additional project details.
Why it matters
Residents and neighborhood advocates have pushed for decades to restore basic services to Desire after major disinvestment following Hurricane Katrina, and local reporting and community histories trace a long stretch of vacancy and delay at the site. The project also sits alongside earlier, on‑again off‑again infusions of outside funding, including a 2024 federal allocation that the senator's office said included roughly $7.3 million to Desire Community Housing Corporation for building replacement. In other words, the new bond money is one piece of a much larger financial puzzle rather than the whole picture. The Lens and a 2024 release from Sen. Bill Cassidy provide context on the site's history and prior federal support.
Next steps
Permit tracking and local reports show a commercial permit filed in early 2024 for construction at 2711 Desire St, suggesting developers and the city have already been lining up approvals for the block. A permit summary listed a roughly 42,000‑square‑foot, $15.2 million project for that address, according to New Orleans CityBusiness, while the project's architect has since refined design estimates.
City officials say releasing the appropriated bond funds will allow Desire Community Housing and its partners to finalize financing, procurement and construction schedules, although a formal groundbreaking date has not been announced. For now, the administration is casting the funding decision as a long‑awaited step toward returning everyday services and jobs to Desire, with more specifics on tenants and a construction timeline expected as the remaining financing and permits fall into place.
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