Three Baton Rouge professional women came together in 2017 with a shared vision of creating affordable housing for domestic abuse survivors and women with children in need of a fresh start.
The three masterminds behind the apartment complex, now called Providence Place, are YWCA Greater Baton Rouge President Dianna Payton, Beechwood Residential President and CEO Wendy Daniels and NRK Construction President Norisha Kirts Glover.
As Business Report writes in its latest issue, their development began when Daniels discovered that the Louisiana Housing Corporation had disaster recovery funds for residential rental housing after the August 2016 flooding in Baton Rouge.
The group partnered with Greater King David Baptist Church to utilize its vacant land and applied for funding to develop 12 affordable apartment units in north Baton Rouge, aimed especially for domestic abuse survivors.
In Louisiana, 35.9% of women reported experiencing physical or sexual violence and/or stalking from an intimate partner in their lifetimes. With safe permanent housing, a supportive community and accessible resources, Payton, Daniels and Glover hope to make a difference one family at a time.
“This deal wouldn’t have happened had it not been for women pushing and advocating for this housing,” Daniels says.
To bring this $3.4 million project to life, many local figures and small businesses put their minds and finances together. Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome provided $1.2 million for development; Greater King David Baptist Church first lady Lea Montgomery offered a long-term ground lease at no cost. Attorney Amanda Spain contributed her legal expertise; Debbie Meir from Home Bank supplied a construction loan; and Arianne Bellizaire provided interior design services.
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