KB Home is forming a joint venture to build homes in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina and has already acquired an option on land near New Orleans, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Bruce Karatz, chief executive of the Los Angeles-based homebuilder, told the Journal that KB is partnering with Shaw Group Inc., an engineering and construction company in Baton Rouge in the 50-50 joint venture. Karatz said the joint venture will focus on building detached single-family homes but also will consider town homes and condominium buildings.

Karatz said the joint venture has an option to acquire a 3,000-acre property known as Churchill Farm, about 30 minutes from downtown New Orleans, and will soon look for land in Baton Rouge and explore opportunities on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, the newspaper said.

Home builder D.R. Horton Inc. recently said it acquired land in Baton Rouge and plans to start building homes there soon.