The Housing Authority of New Orleans is relocating all 174 of its employees from their current dilapidated offices in Gentilly to three new locations in different parts of the city, which will allow the agency to better serve its tens of thousands of subsidized housing customers, according to HANO executive director Marjorianna Willman.
The move follows a fraught few months after Willman, who took over as leader of the housing agency in January, informed HANO’s board in May that the dire conditions at the longtime headquarters on Touro Street in Gentilly — including mold, water leaks and faulty utilities connections — were a threat to the health and safety of employees and customers.
HANO’s board initially put off Willman’s call for a move to new downtown office digs, but in late May they agreed to allow the agency to lease space at 1615 Poydras Street, a building known as the DXC Technology Center. The City Council last year had given its approval for the New Orleans Police Department to lease two floors in that building.
However, Willman said, they weren’t able to agree on terms with the landlord for space at the DXC building, so they looked at alternative spaces and decided to split the workforce between Poydras Street, New Orleans East and Uptown. As well as being more affordable, she said, that move also addresses concerns voiced by some board members that having all HANO staff in the Central Business District would have meant they were a long way from many of their customers…