An ambitious $400 million plan is taking shape to transform the former St. Bernard housing development into mixed-income housing and the nearby City Park golf course into a championship-level course.

So far, $120 million is available for the project and construction has begun, with 466 of 1,325 mixed-income residences expected to be ready for residents to move in by November.

But the Bayou District Foundation, the group leading the development, still has several hurdles to clear before its plan can fully materialize. It still needs money for the remaining two-thirds of the project and the green light from City Park to overhaul the golf course.

And there’s the issue of how many former St. Bernard residents, displaced since Hurricane Katrina, will have access to the new homes.

The old St. Bernard public housing projects were located three blocks from City Park. By any measurement, St. Bernard residents didn’t regularly use park facilities. That should change dramatically if local developers have their way.

The Bayou District Foundation is the lead development partner for the former St. Bernard Housing Community. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Housing Authority of New Orleans picked them for the job in 2007. The foundation broke ground on its first St. Bernard area housing project, Colombia Park, in December.

Colombia Park is the initial phase of a master-planned community within the St. Bernard complex that will feature mixed-use commercial and mixed-income residential buildings.

But the foundation has grander plans than just some innovative replacement for the old St. Bernard public housing projects.

Following a master plan similar to one that’s worked out well for developers and residents in Atlanta, the foundation wants to see the City Park golf courses redeveloped and an economic commitment to the surrounding area.