Katrina & Rita Disaster Recovery Grant Program

Hurricane Katrina Recovery

The hurricane season of 2005 was a devastating event for the Gulf Coast; Hurricanes Katrina and Rita destroyed lives, communities, families, and countless historic resources. In response to this loss of historic fabric and with the hope that many of the remaining resources could be saved the National Park Service received a total of $53 million in federal grant funding to aid in the historic preservation efforts in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

This funding supports the preservation, stabilization, rehabilitation, and repair of historic properties listed in or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Three million of the funding was for assistance with completing Federal compliance requirements.

Background on the Hurricane Katrina Recovery Disaster Relief Fund

• Congress passed Public Law 109-234, appropriating $43 million from the Historic Preservation Fund to the SHPOs in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi for relief from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
  • $40 million for the preservation, stabilization, rehabilitation, and repair of historic properties listed in or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.
  • $3 million for Federal Compliance Requirements.
• Congress passed Public Law 110-28, appropriating an additional $10 million from the Historic Preservation Fund to Louisiana for hurricane relief efforts.

Grant Program Requirements

• Non-Federal matching share was not required.
• Preservation covenants are required for properties receiving more than $99,999 in grant assistance. For projects receiving less than $99,999, a five-year preservation easement must be executed.
• A Programmatic Agreement was developed in conjunction with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation to simplify the Federal Compliance Process.

Grant Program Eligibility Requirements

• Only 2005 hurricane-related damaged properties were eligible for assistance.
• Acquisition was not eligible under this grant program.
• Reconstruction was limited to portions of the property that retain sufficient significance and integrity to remain listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Total or major reconstruction was not eligible.
• Proposed work must adhere to the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.

While Hurricane Katrina has often been referred as the worst natural disaster to have ever occurred in the United States, the unsettling reality is that disasters happen ever year in every region of the country and being better prepared and ready to meet these fire, flood, wind, and storm surge events is critical to the future survival and recovery of many of our irreplaceable historic resources.

Alabama

Total grant award: $2.45 million with $2.25 million for subgrants

Program Guidelines and Background:

• 38 projects received grant funding.
• Grants were awarded to a mix of homeowners, municipalities, and Alabama State run historic preservation projects.
• Subgrant awards ranged from as small as $1,139 to the maximum grant amount of $100,000.
• Alabama hosted two outreach workshops to help applicants.

Project Examples:

• Fort Morgan Casemate (NHL 1850s fort) masonry stabilization.
• Isle Dauphin roof repair of the 1956 beach club.
• Chunchula Schoolhouse window repair and leveling, a project that has since attracted additional outside grant funding.

Louisiana

Total grant award: $22.7 million with $21.4 million available for subgrants

Program Guidelines and Background:

• 567 projects received grant funding.
• Over 1,900 applications received, totaling $41,749,089 in requested funding.
• Subgrants to homeowners ranged from $5,000 to $45,000; with some grants to smaller commercial properties.
• All properties awarded grants are protected by preservation agreements. No easements were required but most project properties are located in regulated historic districts.

Project Examples:

There are grant projects in every historic district in New Orleans and the 15 surrounding parishes, covering a wide variety of rehabilitation and preservation projects primarily of private homes.

Mississippi

Total grant award: $27.5 million with $26 million available for subgrants

Program Guidelines and Background:

• 257 projects received grant funding.
• 566 applications were received for a total of $55 million in requested funding.
• Grant assistance was largely for owner-occupied homes, but some private non-profit properties, public properties, and commercial properties received funding as well.
• Grants range in size from $20,000 to $1 million but most properties were capped at no more than $150,000.
• Mississippi hosted multiple events to promote the program and inform the public.
• All properties have easements that range from five years to perpetuity based on the grant amount awarded.

Project Examples:

• Beauvoir, the Jefferson Davis Home received grant funding for the restoration of all interior decorative plaster.
• The Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis Sullivan designed Charnley Cottage and Guest House received funding for restoration.
• The Steiner home in Waveland received funding for stabilization and rehabilitation of the exterior of the residence.

As work is completed with the Sandy Hurricane Recovery Grant Program we will add to the list of project examples and success stories.