[StBernard] Modular homes draw interest in St. Bernard

[Westley Annis]

Modular homes draw interest in St. Bernard
Many looking for ways not to leave 
Sunday, July 30, 2006
By Karen Turni Bazile
St. Bernard/Plaquemines bureau 

Tony Grose and his family lost three houses in Arabi's Carolyn Park
subdivision last year to floodwaters from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, but
he said there's never been a question about whether they would return home. 
 
His house, which also flooded during Hurricane Betsy in 1965, before he
lived in it, has been demolished, and he said the only decision left is what
type of elevated modular home to build in its place. 

That's why Grose and his family spent part of Saturday checking out the
vendors at the St. Bernard Parish Modular Home Expo held in the
air-conditioned tent behind the St. Bernard Parish Government Complex in
Chalmette. 

"It's mine. It's paid for," Grose, 62, said of the property on Parish Drive
in Arabi where he has lived since 1975. "Why would I go across the lake,
where I would have to worry about a tornado or tree hitting my house? I was
born and raised in St. Bernard, and I guess I'm going to die in St.
Bernard." 

Grose and his wife were at the show along with their daughter, who also is
rebuilding in Carolyn Park. Their son also plans to rebuild on his property
in the same subdivision. 

Grose, who works for a wholesale distributor of marine supplies, said he
spoke with half the builders at the exposition and his wife canvassed the
other half. He said he liked a firm that advocates building a house's cement
slab and pilings all in one pour for added strength. 

Parish Council members Mark Madary and Judy Hoffmeister coordinated the
event, which also included mortgage lenders and some providers of home
materials. They hope to hold another similar event in about a month that
will include more service providers as well as cabinet providers, plumbers
and electricians. 

Madary said he saw a lot of people at the event from the areas of St.
Bernard hardest hit by last year's storms. "I look at it as an opportunity
for them to recapture their lives and their houses," he said. 

Madary, who said more than 1,000 people attended, said he wanted parish
residents to see how quickly they can build new homes to replace demolished
ones so they won't be tempted to move elsewhere. Attendees came from the
north shore and New Orleans as well as St. Bernard. 

Darren Everman of McGuire Development Group and Classic Homes said his
company advocates pouring a home's cement slab and pilings at the same time
because it ties everything to the ground and improves the integrity of the
structure. 

Another vendor, Robert Warr with Four G Pinnacle Homes, said he looks at
each home site individually to see what kind of piers and foundation are
warranted, based on the lot's topography. 

Most vendors said visitors were asking only about elevated modular homes and
that, for many, turnaround time is an issue. 

Everman said his company, which is building a modular-home factory in
eastern New Orleans, will be able to deliver homes in four weeks after the
factory is completed in a few months. 

Terry Tedesco Modular Home Builders built traditional slab homes before the
storm, but it's doing only modular homes today. Tara Tedesco said the
company has completed about a dozen homes with an eight-week turnaround
time, meaning it took eight weeks to finish the house from the time the
builder and buyer signed a contract. 

Adam Vodanovich of ICF Concepts said he was the only vendor at Saturday's
event not featuring modular homes. He is offering raised homes with walls
made of insulated concrete forms. 

Al and Erin Seither, who are living in a condominium in Covington, said they
plan to demolish their former home on Queens Court East in Chalmette. They
were looking for options so their son and his family can build a raised
house on the site. 

Darlene Bergeron said she is already is raising her two-story house on
Delille Street in Chalmette by literally lifting the roof and converting the
former second story into the only floor with living space. But Bergeron, a
St. Bernard Sheriff's Office dispatcher, attended the expo with her mother,
Judy Langsford, a 62-year-old retiree, who is trying to decide what type of
elevated modular home to build at the north end of Plaza Drive, where she
has lived for 25 years. 

Bergeron and Langsford said they would do whatever it takes to be safe
without leaving the parish. "You do what you have to, because there's no
place like home," Bergeron said. 

. . . . . . . 

Karen Turni Bazile can be reached at kturni at timespicayune.com or (504)
826-3335.