[StBernard] Louisiana Selected for $75 Million Alternative Housing Pilot Program by FEMA

[Westley Annis]

Louisiana Selected for $75 Million Alternative Housing Pilot Program by FEMA 

Pilot to address critical recovery housing needs for citizens displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita


BATON ROUGE, La. (December 22, 2006) - Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco and the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) announced today that Louisiana's proposal was selected for an award of up to $75 million to implement the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Alternative Housing Pilot Program, often referred to as the Katrina Cottage program. 

The Alternative Housing Pilot Program is intended to address ongoing housing challenges created by the 2005 hurricane season in the states of the Gulf Coast region, specifically Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, and Texas. 

"We are grateful to FEMA for selecting one of our projects, though we are certain our application was first class and we have, by far and away, the most need," said LRA Infrastructure and Transportation Chairman John T. Landry. "It is disappointing that our extreme need, with several thousand Louisianans still living in FEMA villages, was not taken into greater account."

The proposal is in response to $400 million appropriated by the U.S. Congress in the 2006 Emergency Appropriations Act for the pilot. In related legislation, Congress authorized a one-time waiver of the Stafford Act, which legally binds FEMA to a temporary housing mission reliant primarily on travel trailers and manufactured homes. 

The proposal from Cypress Cottage Partners, based in Baton Rouge, was selected on the state's behalf for funding of up to $74,542,370. 

The proposal requested grant funding for infill development housing in New Orleans in the Treme neighborhood, Jackson Barracks, Lake Charles, and Abbeville. This plan offers two different alternatives - the Katrina Cottage (a single family manufactured home with a porch and options of two and three bedroom layouts), and the Carpet Cottage (a one story multifamily unit that offers one, two, and four bedroom layouts).

FEMA cited the project as illustrative of how disaster housing can spur long-term recovery. The multiple house and bedroom layouts allow recovery officials to provide disaster housing to a diverse population. FEMA also lauded the proposal for showing a commitment to providing social services to residents of this disaster housing, and facilitating affordable home-ownership through the decommissioning of units for use as permanent housing. Furthermore, the surge-production capacity created by a partnership between the Cypress Group and Lowe's (hardware store), permits permanent or semi-permanent housing solutions to be built relatively quickly.

The $75 million represents the anticipated award amount, and would only go "up to" that dollar amount. The final approval and funding of the grant will only be completed and awarded after a thorough review by the FEMA grants office and after all findings and information about the validity of the projects are complete. 

Prior to awarding any grants FEMA will work with states to substantiate the validity of the projects, and gather any additional information that is needed to complete the grant award process.

Louisiana's submission focused on the needs of citizens currently being housed in trailers on both individual and group sites, displaced citizens both in-state and the diaspora, and to address the housing needs for the workforce critical to recovery: healthcare, education, hospitality, construction, and first responders.

The state submitted the proposal to FEMA in late October. The submission was prepared by the LRA and submitted on Governor Blanco's behalf by the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP). 

More than 200,000 housing units in Louisiana suffered major or severe damage as a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Currently, there are over 75,000 occupied trailers in Louisiana with an estimated need of 96,000. Louisiana has the largest number of occupied trailers both individually and in group sites of any state impacted by the hurricanes of 2005. 

In September, the LRA issued a Request for Ideas (RFI) to gather ideas from the private and non-profit sectors on what to include in the state's application. A national panel of experts was convened in New Orleans in October to review the submissions based on FEMA criteria, the commitment to Louisiana's economy and whether the models reflected the architectural traditions of Louisiana. The panel was composed of an Architect/Engineer, Disaster Recovery Specialist, Affordable Housing Expert, Economic Development Specialist, and a Community Development/Preservation specialist.

The national panel recommended six models/projects, five of which are based in Louisiana, to include in the state's application. The contractors chosen were Cypress Cottage Partners, Family Resources of New Orleans, Fibrebond Corporation, Palm Harbor Homes, Homes Now LLP and Plus One. 

For more information on the FEMA Alternative Housing Pilot Program, go to http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=29940 <http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=29940> .

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated South Louisiana, claiming 1,464 lives, destroying more than 200,000 homes and 18,000 businesses and inflicting about $25 billion in insured losses. The Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) is the planning and coordinating body that was created in the aftermath of these storms by Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco to lead one of the most extensive rebuilding efforts in the world. The LRA is a 33-member body which is coordinating across jurisdictions, supporting community recovery and resurgence, ensuring integrity and effectiveness, and planning for the recovery and rebuilding of Louisiana.

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