[Federal Register: March 16, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 52)]
[Notices]
[Page 15215-15217]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr16mr01-11]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Rural Housing Service
Housing Demonstration Program
AGENCY: Rural Housing Service, United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA).
ACTION: Notice of fund availability for the Rural Housing Demonstration
Program.
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SUMMARY: The Rural Housing Service (RHS) announces the availability of
housing funds for fiscal year (FY) 2001 for the Rural Housing
Demonstration Program. For FY 2001, RHS has set aside $3 million for
the Innovative Demonstration Initiatives and is soliciting proposals
for a Housing Demonstration program under section 506(b) of title V of
the Housing Act of 1949. Under section 506(b), RHS may provide loans
for innovative housing units and systems which do not meet existing
published standards, rules, regulations, or policies. The intended
effect is to increase the availability of affordable Rural Housing (RH)
for low-income families through innovative designs and systems.
EFFECTIVE DATE: March 16, 2001.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gloria L. Denson, Senior Loan
Specialist, Single Family Housing Direct Loan Division, RHS, U.S.
Department of Agriculture, STOP 0783, 1400 Independence Ave. SW.,
Washington, DC 20250-0783, Telephone (202) 720-1474. (This is not a
toll free number.)
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under current standards, regulations, and
policies, some low-income rural families lack sufficient income to
qualify for loans to obtain adequate housing. Section 506(b) of title V
of the Housing Act of 1949, authorizes a housing demonstration program
that could result in housing that these families can afford. The
Congress of the United States made two conditions: (1) That the health
and safety of the population of the areas in which the demonstrations
are carried out will not be adversely affected, and (2) that the
aggregate expenditures for the demonstration may not exceed $10 million
in any fiscal year.
Rural Development State Directors are authorized in FY 2001 to
accept demonstration concept proposals from nonprofit and for profit
organizations.
The objective of the demonstration programs is to test new
approaches to offering housing under the statutory authority granted to
the Secretary of Agriculture. Rural Development will be required to
review each application for completeness and accuracy; however, some
demonstration programs may or may not be consistent with some of the
provisions of our 7 CFR part 3550-Direct Single Family Housing Loans
and Grants regulation. Under section 506(b) of the Housing Act of 1949,
the Agency may provide loans for innovative housing design units and
systems which do not meet existing published standards, rules,
regulations, or policies.
The Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Title VIII provides that a
program such as this be administered affirmatively so that individuals
of similar low-income levels in the housing market area have housing
choices available to them regardless of their race, color, religion,
sex, national origin, familial status and handicap. Under Section 504
of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 we must make reasonable
accommodations to permit a person with disabilities to apply for the
benefit from agency programs. Executive Order 12898 requires our Agency
to conduct a Civil Rights Impact Analysis on each project prior to
eligibility/loan approval. Also, the requirements of Executive Order
11246 are applicable regarding equal employment opportunity when the
proposed contract exceeds $10,000.
A completed application which has been determined to carry out the
objectives of the program will be considered on a first come, first
served basis based on the date a completed application is submitted. An
application is considered complete only if the ``Application for
Approval of Housing Innovation'' is complete in content, contains
information related to the criteria and all applicable additional
information required by the application form has been provided. All
application packages must be in accordance with the technical
management requirements and address the criteria in the Proposal
Content. The application, Proposal Content and Criteria, and further
information may be obtained from the Rural Development State office in
your area. (See the State Office address list at the end of this notice
or access the website at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/recd_map.html.
Organizations that submit incomplete applications will be advised in
writing of additional information needed for continued processing.
The following evaluation factors will not be weighted and are non-
competitive. RHS, in its analysis of the proposals received, will
consider whether the proposals will carry out the objectives of this
demonstration effort in accordance with the following criteria:
A. Housing Unit Concept
1. A proposal must be well beyond the ``idea'' state. Sufficient
testing must have been completed to demonstrate its feasibility. The
proposal must be judged ready for full scale field testing in a rural
setting.
2. Ability of the housing unit to provide for the protection of
life, property, and for the safety and welfare of the consumer, general
public and occupants through the design, construction, quality of
materials, use, and maintenance of the housing unit.
3. Flexibility of the housing units in relation to varying types of
housing and varying site considerations.
4. Flexibility of the housing unit concept, insofar as it provides
the ability to adjust or modify unit size and arrangements, either
during design or after construction.
5. Efficiency in the use of materials and labor, with respect to
cost in place, the conservation of materials, and the effective use of
labor skills. Potential for Self-Help Technical Assistance Grant
applications.
6. Selection of materials for durability and ease of maintenance.
7. Concepts for the effective use of land and development.
B. Organization Capabilities
1. The experience and ``know-how'' of the proposed organization or
individual to implement construction of the housing unit concept in
relation to the requirements of RHS's housing programs.
2. The management structure and organization of the proposer.
3. The quality and diversity of management and professional talent
proposed as ``key individuals.''
4. The management plan of how this effort will be conducted.
C. Cost and Price Analysis
1. The level of costs which are proposed, as they may compare with
other proposals and be considered realistic for the efforts planned.
Also, the quantity and level of detail in the information supplied.
2. Projected cost of ``housing in place,'' with particular
reference to housing for very low and low-income families.
An acceptable proposal will be sent by the State Director to the
National office for concurrence by the RHS Administrator before the
State Director may approve it. If the proposal is not selected, the
State Director will so notify the applicant in writing, giving specific
reasons why the proposal was not selected. The funds for the RH
[[Page 15216]]
Demonstration program are section 502 single family housing funds and
are available to housing applicants who wish to purchase an approved
demonstration dwelling. Funds cannot be reserved or guaranteed under
the demonstration housing concept. There is no guarantee that a market
exists for demonstration dwellings, and this does not ensure that an
eligible loan applicant will be available for such a section 502 RH
dwelling. If there is no available RHS eligible loan applicant, the RH
demonstration program applicant will have to advance funds to complete
the construction of the demonstration housing, with the risk that there
may be no RHS applicant from which the builder will recover his or her
development and construction costs.
This program or activity is listed in the Catalog of Federal
Domestic Assistance under No. 10.410. For the reasons contained in 7
CFR part 3015, subpart V and RD Instruction 1940-J, ``Intergovernmental
Review of Rural Development Programs and Activities,'' this program or
activity is excluded from the scope of Executive Order 12372, which
requires intergovernmental consultation with State and local officials.
All interested parties must make a written request for a proposal
package. The request must be made to the State Director in the State in
which the proposal will be submitted; RHS will not be liable for any
expenses incurred by respondents in the development and submission of
applications.
The reporting requirements contained in this notice have been
approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under Control
Number 0575-0114.
Dated: March 12, 2001.
James C. Alsop,
Acting Administrator, Rural Housing Service
The following is an address list of Rural Development State Offices
across the nation:
Alabama
Sterling Centre, 4121 Carmichael Road, Suite 601, Montgomery, AL
36106-3683, (334) 279-3400
Alaska
Suite 201, 800 W. Evergreen, Palmer, AK 99645-6539, (907) 761-7705
Arizona
Phoenix Corporate Center, 3003 N. Central Avenue, Suite 900,
Phoenix, AZ 85012-2906, (602) 280-8700
Arkansas
Room 3416, 700 W. Capitol, Little Rock, AR 72201-3225, (501) 301-
3200
California
Agency 4169, 430 G Street, Davis, CA 95616-4169, (530) 792-5800
Colorado
Room E100, 655 Parfet Street, Lakewood, CO 80215, (303) 236-2801
Delaware & Maryland
PO Box 400, 4607 S. DuPont Highway, Camden, DE 19934-9998, (302)
697-4300
Florida & Virgin Islands
PO Box 147010, 4440 NW 25th Place, Gainesville, FL 32614-7010,
(352) 338-3400
Georgia
Stephens Federal Building, 355 E. Hancock Avenue, Athens, GA 30601-
2768, (706) 546-2162
Hawaii
Room 311, Federal Building, 154 Waianuenue Avenue, Hilo, HI 96720,
(808) 933-8309
Idaho
Suite A1, 9173 W. Barnes Drive, Boise, ID 83709, (208) 378-5600
Illinois
Illini Plaza, Suite 103, 1817 S. Neil Street, Champaign, IL 61820,
(217) 398-5235, (217) 398-5412 for automated answer
Indiana
5975 Lakeside Boulevard, Indianapolis, IN 46278, (317) 290-3100
Iowa
873 Federal Building, 210 Walnut Street, Des Moines, IA 50309,
(515) 284-4663
Kansas
PO Box 4653, 1200 SW Executive Drive, Topeka, KS 66604, (785) 271-
2700
Kentucky
Suite 200, 771 Corporate Drive, Lexington, KY 40503, (606) 224-7300
Louisiana
3727 Government Street, Alexandria, LA 71302, (318) 473-7920
Maine
PO Box 405, 967 Illinois Avenue, Suite 4, Bangor, ME 04402-0405,
(207) 990-9110
Massachusetts, Conn, Rhode Island
451 West Street, Amherst, MA 01002, (413) 253-4300
Michigan
Suite 200, 3001 Coolidge Road, East Lansing, MI 48823, (517) 324-
5100
Minnesota
410 AgriBank Building, 375 Jackson Street, St. Paul, MN 55101-1853,
(651) 602-7800
Mississippi
Federal Building, Suite 831, 100 W. Capitol Street, Jackson, MS
39269, (601) 965-4316
Missouri
Parkade Center, Suite 235, 601 Business Loop 70 West, Columbia, MO
65203, (573) 876-0976
Montana
Unit 1, Suite B, PO Box 850, 900 Technology Boulevard, Bozeman, MT
59715, (406) 585-2580
Nebraska
Federal Building, Room 152, 100 Centennial Mall N, Lincoln, NE
68508, (402) 437-5551
Nevada
1390 S. Curry Street, Carson City, NV 89703-9910, (775) 887-1222
New Jersey
Tarnsfield Plaza, Suite 22, 790 Woodlane Road, Mt. Holly, NJ 08060,
(609) 265-3600
New Mexico
Room 255, 6200 Jefferson Street, NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109, (505)
761-4950
New York
The Galleries of Syracuse, 441 S. Salina Street, Suite 357,
Syracuse, NY 13202-2541, (315) 477-6400
North Carolina
Suite 260, 4405 Bland Road, Raleigh, NC 27609, (919) 873-2000
North Dakota
Federal Building, Room 208, 220 East Rosser, PO Box 1737, Bismarck,
ND 58502-1737, (701) 530-2044
Ohio
Federal Building, Room 507, 200 N. High Street, Columbus, OH 43215-
2418, (614) 255-2400
Oklahoma
Suite 108, 100 USDA, Stillwater, OK 74074-2654, (405) 742-1000
Oregon
Suite 1410, 101 SW Main, Portland, OR 97204-3222, (503) 414-3300
Pennsylvania
Suite 330, One Credit Union Place, Harrisburg, PA 17110-2996, (717)
237-2299
Puerto Rico
IBM Building-Suite 601, 654 Munos Rivera Avenue, Hato Rey, Puerto
Rico 00918-6106, (787) 766-5095
South Carolina
Strom Thurmond Federal Building, 1835 Assembly Street, Room 1007,
Columbia, SC 29201, (803) 765-5163
South Dakota
Federal Building, Room 210, 200 Fourth Street, SW, Huron, SD 57350,
(605) 352-1100
Tennessee
Suite 300, 3322 W. End Avenue, Nashville, TN 37203-1084, (615) 783-
1300
Texas
Federal Building, Suite 102, 101 S. Main, Temple, TX 76501, (254)
742-9700
Utah
Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building,
[[Page 15217]]
125 S. State Street, Room 4311, Post Office Box 11350, Salt Lake City,
UT 84147-0350, (801) 524-4320
Vermont & New Hampshire
City Center, 3rd Floor, 89 Main Street, Montpelier, VT 05602, (802)
828-6000
Virginia
Culpeper Building, Suite 238,
1606 Santa Rosa Road,
Richmond, VA 23229,
(804) 287-1550
Washington
Suite B,
1835 Black Lake Blvd., SW,
Olympia, WA 98512-5715,
(360) 704-7740
West Virginia
Federal Building, Room 320,
75 High Street,
Morgantown, WV 26505-7500,
(304) 284-4860
Wisconsin
4949 Kirschling Court,
Stevens Point, WI 54481,
(715) 345-7600
Wyoming
Federal Building, Room 1005,
100 East B, PO Box 820,
Casper, WY 82602,
(307) 261-6300
[FR Doc. 01-6556 Filed 3-15-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-XV-P
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