New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

New Student Housing

OUR GREATEST NEED: New Student Housing

When Hurricane Katrina's storm surge breached the levees in New Orleans, most of the NOBTS campus was flooded. The areas hardest hit by the floodwaters were near the back of the campus where student housing is located. The States Apartments were two-bedroom units that were built during the 1950's. At the time of the storm, there were 92 units within the States Apartments complex that were being used for student housing. When the levees broke, five to seven feet of floodwater filled the first floor units of these apartments. Many of our alumni lived in the States buildings during their time as students.

Unfortunately, these apartments were not built with the proper foundations that are needed to withstand the type of soil found throughout the New Orleans area. Over the years, some of the States buildings' foundations had settled to the point to where the apartments built upon them could no longer be used. After Katrina's devastation, it was determined that restoration of the States Apartments would not be cost-effective given the overall condition of the buildings and type of foundation used during construction. Therefore, all of the States Apartment complexes were torn down and the land where they once stood is now green space.

States Apartment building being demolished

States Apartment Building being demolished

Green space where States Apartments once stood will be the site for the new two-bedroom student apartment complex.

The Problem

Without those 92 two-bedroom apartments, NOBTS has a serious shortage of student housing. Each semester, new students move onto campus with their families to begin pursuing the seminary education in preparation for the ministry to which God has called them. Since Katrina, the seminary's housing office maintains a waitlist of families needing housing. There are usually in excess of twenty-five families at any given time on the waiting list. These families are temporarily housed in hotel-like rooms in our Providence Guest House as well as guest rooms located above the student enlistment office. Students living in these temporary accommodations cannot cook meals, do their laundry, and have little privacy for studying. By the end of the semester, the waiting list gradually shrinks somewhat as some students living in permanent campus housing are called to churches and move off campus to live in housing provided by their churches. Those living in temporary housing generally wait up to a year or more before being cleared from the waiting list. Unfortunately, some students have left the seminary to return home because they are unable to continue living in temporary accommodations while managing the stress of their theological studies.

The seminary will have difficulty growing its overall student enrollment without sufficient housing. Replacing the apartment units that were torn down after Katrina is crucial to the seminary's overall growth goals.

The Solution

Plans have been drawn for three buildings that together would contain 100 two-bedroom apartment units. The total cost to build these apartments is approximately $15 million. The seminary wants to be a good steward and not go into debt for the cost of constructing these apartments. Would you be willing to provide financial assistance in order to build this much needed student housing? Charitable gifts to New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary are tax deductible in accordance with current law.

A group of Baptists from Mississippi have a burden for the housing need and have started a grassroots campaign to raise money to build the first of the three buildings that would comprise the new two-bedroom student housing complex. To date, over $300,000 have been raised toward this effort.

Project Details

• Cost of Construction: $15 million
• Approximate construction time: 9 months
• Sponsor an apartment: $150,000 (naming rights are available for sponsored apartments)
• Sponsor one room of an apartment: $21,500
• Apartment Size: 830 Square Feet 

The need is critical. Would you be willing to help?

Click here to donate to the student housing project. For more information, you may contact the Office for Institutional Advancement by calling 1-800-662-8701 extension 3252 or via e-mail.