The hottie with a hammer is at it again. But, this time Brad Pitt is swinging in New Orleans. The actor stopped by the construction site of his environmentally friendly housing project in the Big Easy on Tuesday, calling the enterprise “a small little victory.”
Pitt’s project (it’s actually backed in cooperation with Global Green and the Home Depot Foundation) is designed to help displaced residents affected by Hurricane Katrina. If all goes according to plan, by this time next year, five single-family homes and approximately 18 apartments should be complete, allowing more than 20 families a new place to live.
Those families will be living in state of the art green spaces made with green building materials and stocked with energy-saving appliances, dual windows and high-efficiency light bulbs. Each home also features toilets designed for water conservation, soy-based insulation, paperless drywall, solar panels and a roof on the second-story deck designed to help insulate the house.
According to Pitt, the homes were specifically designed to help lower the utility bills for low-income families. Reports estimate with the new appliances, homeowners can expect their electric bills to be cut by 75 percent; and water bills, by half.
Of the environmentally friendly housing project Pitt told reporters: “These new homes treat families with dignity, with respect, that is conscious of their quality of life.”
The single-family homes consist of three bedrooms and are located in the Holy Cross section of the city’s Lower 9th Ward, one of the areas hardest hit by Katrina. The disaster uprooted tens of thousands of residents. Speaking to reporters about the displaced families Pitt said: “We knew we couldn’t bring back the families and friends who were lost, bring back the heirlooms and pictures, but maybe, in the process of rebuilding, we could build something smarter to create a better way of life.”
The housing project got underway in May and developers say the first house should be complete by the end of the year. It will serve as a model home and visitor center while other houses are constructed. Pitt says when the housing project is complete it will also feature a community center.
Related Articles:
Brad Pitt—Actor… Father… Mr. Generosity??