New Homes Planned For Lower 9th Ward

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Former professional football players are teaming with New Orleans area builders to construct at least three new homes in the Lower 9th Ward — and they're hoping to have it done in time for Super Bowl 2013.

The effort was launched on Tuesday by Touchdown for Homes, a nationwide charitable outreach program of the National Association of Home Builders and the NFL Players Association that works to strengthen communities by building or renovating homes for children or families in need and veterans.

The Lower 9th Ward was one of the hardest-hit sections of the city when levees and floodwalls gave way during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Blocks where homes were pushed off their foundations sit empty, and only a fraction of the neighborhood's residents have returned.