<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1mXbgh_1AFRpnbY00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1mXbgh_1AFRpnbY00" width="1612" height="1286" ><figcaption>Mayor-President Sid Edwards announces a major initiative with the Office of Community Development that will invest federal grant funds in community development while in front of a home that was renovated on Monday, April 6, 2026 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Staff photo by Michael Johnson STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL JOHNSON</figcaption></figure>In the final weeks of 2025, Mayor-President Sid Edwards touted a milestone: His administration demolished a record 200 blighted houses in its first year, aligning with a central focus of his election campaign.On Monday, standing inside a newly restored house in Old South Baton Rouge, Edwards and his team signaled what comes next — shifting from efforts to tear down neglected properties to rebuilding them.At a news conference in front of the first fully redeveloped city-parish-controlled home of his administration, Edwards spoke on his “blight fight,” calling it “critically important.”But what comes next is just as crucial, he said, as previously blighted properties are rehabilitated and returned to the marketplace to enhance the city-parish’s housing market and economic development.The Office of Community Development was recently awarded a little more than $6 million in federal dollars, which Edwards and Development Director Kelly LeDuff say they hope turn into affordable housing and business storefront improvements.The Lori Burgess Avenue home highlighted by Edwards and LeDuff on Monday cost roughly $45,000 in grant funding to rehabilitate — one of about 40 to 50 properties under the Office of Community Development that officials hope to bring back into commerce in similar fashion.“This property was once unoccupied. It was an OCD-owned property,” LeDuff said. “It's now back on the market and creating opportunity for homeownership where there once was neglect. This is the path forward for city-parish.”With recent estimates that the parish holds more than 5,000 blighted properties, Edwards says much remains to be done.<h2>Service, not real estate</h2>Earlier this year, Edwards, LeDuff and members of the mayor’s staff traveled to Detroit to study how the city, over the past decade, has taken control of tens of thousands of vacant properties — demolishing some buildings and selling or rehabilitating others to spur redevelopment.What they found is that expropriation process — or the government seizure of property, typically with compensation — is much quicker in the Motor City.Upon their return, some local leaders expressed concerns over the idea of cutting red tape for government to take control of properties that often belong to historically disenfranchised groups.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=004Ahw_1AFRpnbY00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=004Ahw_1AFRpnbY00" width="1686" height="1228" ><figcaption>Executive director Kelly LeDuff talks about the initiative announced by Mayor-President Sid Edwards and the Office of Community Development while at a home that was renovated on Monday, April 6, 2026 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Staff photo by Michael Johnson STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL JOHNSON</figcaption></figure>And though property rights prove a hot-button topic in Baton Rouge, LeDuff says the administration is continuing to explore ways in which things can move faster.“Even for me, the word expropriations is scary … but I think it's necessary,” LeDuff said. “The city-parish does not want to be in the real estate business. We want to put these homes back in commerce for families to live and raise their children in them.”In the next few months, Edwards’ team expects to announce a new initiative related to the blight process. The details of that plan are currently unclear.An ongoing probe by the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office has scrutinized the same category of federal dollars discussed Monday. The investigation includes contracted funds to vendors under the previous administration.In recent months, LeDuff’s office has held workshops to train developers on compliance, and the mayor ordered a review of city-parish processes last year. While some of these steps may have been planned regardless, LeDuff emphasized that it’s crucial for everyone involved — including developers — to fully understand their responsibilities as subpoenas continue to hit City Hall.“I'd be lying to say we hadn't seen the news,” he said. “I think you should understand what you're signing up for, understand what you're receiving, and understand the burden that comes with it.”LeDuff announced a first-time buyers program the city will offer for its redeveloped properties like the one showcased Monday. It will offer 3% mortgages and down-payment assistance for qualifying low- to moderate-income residents.The mayor said incentives like that can also help keep young people in Baton Rouge, a demographic that has moved elsewhere in significant numbers over recent decades.Edwards says his office will also provide $5,000 to $50,000 in federal grant dollars to help spruce up businesses by improving facades, lighting, signage and more.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0nJiZz_1AFRpnbY00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0nJiZz_1AFRpnbY00" width="1599" height="1296" ><figcaption>Executive director Kelly LeDuff talks with Mayor-President Sid Edwards as they tour a renovated home from the Office of Community Development in part with the community development initiative on Monday, April 6, 2026 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Staff photo by Michael Johnson STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL JOHNSON</figcaption></figure>The 1,170-square-foot property shown Monday has yet to be appraised, but community development officials say real estate agents expect it to be listed somewhere around $132,000.In the past four years, the Office of Community Development has added more than 130 affordable housing units in the area, many of which were projects that began during former Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome’s administration.LeDuff and other officials will be showing off city-parish developed properties like those and others in Scotlandville, Mid City, Istrouma and other areas over the next week.City development officials said Baton Rouge can expect a decent amount of city-parish-controlled homes, like the one shown Monday, to hit the market by the end of the year. And while Edwards’ team still faces challenges in taking over privately owned, long-blighted properties, officials said it is important to focus on the homes they can act on now.“As the city, we have to get rid of our blighted property, right?” LeDuff said. “It’s like me being over my homeowners association. If I never cut my grass and I never pull my trash cans in, it’s hard for me to tell my neighbors what to do.”</div></body>

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In the final weeks of 2025, Mayor-President Sid Edwards touted a milestone: His administration demolished a record 200 blighted houses in its first year, aligning with a central focus of his election campaign. On Monday, standing inside a newly restored house in Old South Baton Rouge, Edwards and his team...

Demo to development: Sid Edwards outlines next steps in administration’s blight plan

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In the final weeks of 2025, Mayor-President Sid Edwards touted a milestone: His administration demolished a record 200 blighted houses in its first year, a

Demo to development: Sid Edwards outlines next steps in administration’s blight plan

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