One of the most important aspects of the Texas Grow Home project is to develop a safe, comfortable and architecturally pleasing house for a very modest cost. As we get ready to put the houses out for bid we are getting nervous about the costs.
A criteria in the design competition was that the architects were to design a house which could be built in a two bedroom, one bath configuration for no more than $54,000. They were also asked to design a one bedroom, one bath addition that could be added on for no more than $23,000. These costs do not include utilities, site work, appliances and soft costs.
A budgeting assumption was that the houses could be built for less if they were built in quantities and fabricated as modular or panalized units. We have known from the beginning however that we were not going to achieve these economies of scale in building the prototypes.
The project has secured a funding commitment from the Texas Department of Housing and Community affairs for $250,000. These funds will provide the interim construction financing and permanent mortgage financing through an interest free loan.
This gives us $62,500 to build each of the four houses.
It looks like we are going to catch a little break because three of the four families we are working to qualify at this point only need two-bedroom houses.
The houses will be built to replace homes that were destroyed by Hurricane Rita. The good news is that there will be no cost to buy lots to build the prototype houses. The bad news is that we will have to pay to demolish the existing dilapidated houses.
Our team members coordinating the construction tell me that they expect we’re going to exceed our budget once we get the bids in and we total up all of the other costs of construction and demolition. How much we go over budget is the first thing we’re worried about. Where we come up with the extra funds is the second.
When we began this project and secured funding from the state to build prototype houses we intended to only build three. But given the excitement of the judges for the four designs and the compelling needs of the families we have encountered in Port Arthur we felt compelled to try to squeeze in fourth house to test another design and to help another needy family.
Texas Grow Home 
we bid a similar project in port arthur and had the best price. we are very interested in bidding these houses and we believe that we can offer a product within or very close to your budget. we can also bringg to the table some very large financial resources. we work very closely with james gleason @ ggleason design group. we are involved in several projects with him now. we would like the opportunity to talk to you about this project and see if we can be of assistance.