Community Renewal Good Stories - New Orleans

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New Orleans, Louisiana Renewal Community

Renewal Community Incentive Rebuilds Socially Significant New Orleans Funeral Home

The Rhodes Funeral Home building at 3933 Washington Avenue in New Orleans, Louisiana, was constructed in the early 1900s and originally served as the Tivoli Movie Theatre.  The theatre was segregated, only allowing black patrons to view motion pictures from the upstairs seating area.  In 1968 the building was purchased by the Rhodes Family and renovated to provide funeral services for Black families.  Since its inception, the Rhodes Funeral Home has serviced the entire New Orleans Community.

After Hurricane Katrina

During Recent Renovations

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of the building. A few years later an important Renewal Community tax incentive helped to rescue the Rhodes building.  In 2008 Rhodes Funeral Homes, Inc. received a commercial revitalization deduction (CRD) allocation of $3,240,000 for the substantial rehabilitation of the entire facility, including the lobby, chapels, general offices, and other areas.  These renovations are essential to bring the building back into service as a funeral home.  The State of Louisiana is able to award $12 million in CRD allocations each year to businesses in the New Orleans Renewal Community that construct or substantially rehabilitate commercial properties.  HUD designated 40 Renewal Communities throughout the country at the end of 2001.

For more information on the New Orleans RC, contact Community Investment Officer Daphne Cola at 504-658-4376.