St. Thomas Development
| St. Thomas Development | |
| St. Thomas Housing Projects | |
| New Orleans Neighborhood | |
 St. Thomas Projects, early 1940s
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Louisiana |
| City | New Orleans |
| Planning District | District 2, Central City/Garden District |
| Elevation | 7 ft (2.1 m) |
| Coordinates | 29°55′34″N 90°04′21″W / 29.92611°N 90.07250°WCoordinates: 29°55′34″N 90°04′21″W / 29.92611°N 90.07250°W |
| Area | 0.27 sq mi (0.7 km2) |
| - land | 0.23 sq mi (1 km2) |
| - water | 0.04 sq mi (0 km2), 14.81% |
| Population | 1,091 (2010) |
| Density | 4,041/sq mi (1,560/km2) |
| Timezone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| Area code | 504 |
St. Thomas Development is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans and a former Housing Projects of New Orleans. A sub-district of the Central City/Garden District area, its boundaries as defined by the City Planning Commission are: Constance, St. Mary, Magazine and Felicity Streets to the north; the Mississippi River to the south; and 1st, St. Thomas, and Chippewa Streets, plus Jackson Avenue to the west.
St. Thomas Development is located at 29°55′34″N 90°04′21″W / 29.92611°N 90.07250°W and has an elevation of 7 feet (2.1 m). According to the United States Census Bureau, the district has a total area of 0.27 square miles (0.7 km2). 0.23 square miles (0.6 km2) of which is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km2) (14.81%) of which is water.
The City Planning Commission defines the boundaries of St. Thomas Development as these streets: Constance Street, St. Mary Street, Magazine Street, Felicity Street, the Mississippi River, 1st Street, St. Thomas Street, Chippewa Street and Jackson Avenue.
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,957 people, 834 households, and 608 families residing in the neighborhood. The population density was 12,857 /mi² (4,928 /km²). As of the census of 2010, there were 2,161 people, 1,001 households, and 471 families residing in the neighborhood.
The St. Thomas Housing Project was one of the oldest housing projects of New Orleans. It was bordered by St. Thomas Street to the south, a service alley between Constance and Laurel Streets to the north, Felicity Street to the east, and Josephine Street to the west. St. Thomas housing development was originally designated for white occupants only. After the Civil Rights Act of 1964, all of the city’s public housing projects were desegregated. At that time, the residents were a group of racially diverse, low-income, working-class families. In the mid/late 60s, many of these families were forced out when the federal government decided that their income was too high. At the same time, there was a decrease in social services in the housing developments – a decrease many attribute to the money going into the Vietnam war. The exodus of industry from the inner city plunged the St. Thomas residents into great poverty, and subsequent White flight meant that, in recent years, residents have been primarily African American. Living conditions and crime became a problem during the mid-1970s when Heroin flooded the project. Problems in St. Thomas continued throughout the '80's and '90's. In 1996, the Housing Authority of New Orleans received a H.U.D. Hope VI grant to demolish and rebuild the area. The grant included the costs of relocating the nearly 3,000 then-residents to other properties. By the end of 2001, all of the buildings except a few had been demolished to create a mixed-income neighborhood named "River Garden." A section of Chippewa Street was re-aligned in the process. Also, a new Wal-Mart superstore was constructed on long-vacant property one block south of the former project site.
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