The Mission

To build high-quality, new homes for New Orleans families whose homes were badly damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, to provide families with the support and resources they need to rebuild, and to support any efforts that assist in the rebuilding of New Orleans’ neighborhoods.

The Problem

A year after the storm, architect and contractor William Monaghan was disheartened by the lack of support available to low- and moderate-income families who needed to build a new house on their pre-storm property. Few for-profit builders were offering smaller-scale, high-quality, new homes at a price that the average family could afford. And few non-profits were providing full-service rebuilding assistance with a focus on new construction – beyond a few neighborhood-specific efforts.

The Innovative Idea

We work with individual families whose homes were too badly damaged to renovate to build a high-quality, elevated, new home on their lot. We have 14 floorplans, custom-designed for Build Now by William, that reflect the style and quality of traditional New Orleans architecture, and can be built for as low as $95,000.

We work with clients on every step of the rebuilding process, from demolishing their old house, to choosing a floorplan, to applying for zoning variances, to obtaining permits, to purchasing materials and supervising subcontractors. We have developed expertise in working with clients to obtain the financing they need to rebuild, enabling them to make the most of the resources that they have and finding them additional sources of funds as needed.

The Start-Up

In September 2007, we began construction on our model home at 5713 Elysian Fields Avenue in Gentilly. William's daughter Tess moved to New Orleans to become Build Now's Executive Director, implementing our outreach, sales and marketing efforts. We opened the doors of our model house in May of 2008, and used a grassroots strategy to reach out to the community — distributing flyers to local businesses, speaking at neighborhood association meetings, and even going door to door to talk to residents. By the end of 2008 we had broken ground on our first 4 houses – 2 in the Upper Ninth Ward, one in the Lower Ninth Ward, and one in Ponchartrain Park.

We also started a monthly educational series, Build Now TALKS, to provide information to homeowners on topics central to the rebuilding process, from green building to elevation funding to financing options. In addition to our monthly Build Now TALKS events, we provide information at events in the community — including a presentation on construction financing at Dillard University’s Greater New Orleans Housing Fair, to a talk on elevation funding at Neighborhoods Partnership Network’s offices.

Our Impact and Accomplishments

As of August, 2009, we have completed 5 homes with 11 more underway. Neighborhoods served include the Upper Ninth Ward, the Lower Ninth Ward, Gentilly, Ponchartrain Park, Lakeview, Hollygrove, Central City, and Freret Street. We are honored to have the opportunity to work with so many wonderful families to return to their neighborhoods. We continue to grow, with new houses breaking ground, new staff members on board, and new neighborhoods becoming aware of our services.

Additionally, we have served hundreds of area residents at a dozen informational events held over the past year. These events, as well as the Rebuilding Info section on our website, have given us a reputation as a good resource to call with questions such as “who can help me rehab my home in New Orleans East?” or “how high do I have to elevate my home in Lakeview?”. We do our best to track down the answers to every question that comes our way, because anything we can add to the rebuilding effort contributes to our greater goals.

Overcoming Challenges

Now in the second year of our operations, we feel that we are beginning to be known, trusted, and accepted in the community – an honor that we do not take lightly, as this was our greatest obstacle when we first got started. Now, we are facing the challenges that come with managing growth.

Additionally, we continue to look for new sources of funds for our clients, as most homeowners did not receive what they need to rebuild through Road Home and insurance. Credit restrictions on conventional construction loans are tight, so we continue to find alternative methods of financing our clients’ new homes, including providing some in-house financing for the construction phase. Donations to our Gap Financing Fund enable us to provide in-house gap financing for clients who need a little extra to get back home.

Our Current Needs

1. Publicity/Marketing

2. Funding

Support and Contact

If you can help out with any of these needs our would like to make a donation to Build Now, please contact Tess Monaghan at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

To learn more about Build Now, click here.