August 17, 2007 - HUD Has Issued an RFP for the Evaluation Portion of the Alternative Housing Pilot Program for the Gulf States

In December 2006 FEMA and HUD allocated $400 million to the Gulf Coast states who submitted applications for the Alternative Housing Pilot Program. The top projects were selected and award amounts totaled $388 million. The states of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas all submitted projects that ranked as the most competitive to receive grant funding, with the projects providing a high degree of confidence in achieving their goal. Among the projects funded was the highly publicized Katrina Cottages.

The initial RFP issued in September 2006 also called for an extensive evaluation of the program using the remaining three percent of the $400 million. This process has now begun. This week, HUD has issued an RFP to its approved government grantee entities that would entail conducting evaluations in order to provide information to Federal, state and local leaders to assist them in making decisions regarding the provision of alternative types of housing for use in future disasters. Included will be a Short Term Evaluation conducted on factors associated with the housing type, codes, cost, timeframes, and acceptability of the approaches (units) selected. This effort will be conducted concurrently with the actual grant execution efforts of the states receiving FEMA grants.

A subsequent evaluation is also included, focusing on the longer term performance of the housing provided under this effort. This evaluation effort will begin concurrently with the short-term evaluation, and will continue for approximately four years. This second evaluation will address longer-term costs (energy and maintenance), durability,
consumer perceptions, and impact of housing on individual and long-term community recovery and well being.

The National Modular Housing Council will remain extremely close to these developments over the coming month, as the results of the evaluation will very likely impact decisions by HUD on procurement of and specifications for emergency housing in the future.

For more information see page 16 of the September RFP http://www.modularcouncil.org/mc/admin/template/brochures/130temp.pdf
or contact Thayer Long at (703) 558-0678.