Your guide on the road home
The American Renaissance Homes story began in St. Bernard Parish in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Steven Richards, who serves as ARH’s Chief Executive Officer, began working as a FEMA economic development and housing specialist with a focus on long-term community recovery plan. In the realm of his duties with the parish and FEMA, Richards met other specialists, who like himself, were witnessing a slow recovery, especially when it came affordable housing. As Richards explains, “You knew the resurgence of the parish was not going to happen overnight because of the severity of the damage. However, as a professional you also knew there had to be a more efficient and affordable way to provide much needed housing in St. Bernard Parish.”
Richards and three other FEMA co-workers turned friends, along with an experienced New Orleans architect outside of FEMA, began meeting to develop a plan, something of a holistic approach to rebuilding neighborhoods. The idea was to create a company that would not only provide an alternative to traditional home building, but would also offer other services so residents could get everything they would need to rebuild during one-stop. Their ideas centered on selling modular homes, and as the concept evolved, so did American Renaissance Homes.
The core of the business is to provide modular homes that can be ordered, built (there are custom-design elements available), delivered and made available for occupancy in eight to 10 weeks. In addition, ARH offers many other services, such as:
- Home demolition and debris removal
- Special appliance packages that provide all the essentials, including washer/dryer and refrigerator
- Exclusive finance and insurance packages to ARH homeowners
- Full landscaping to the front yard, with seeing of the side and backyard
- ICC and parish building code compliant
- Interior design services and discounted furniture
- Architects on staff to assist in home design
We believe we have something that works and helps people get back on their feet safely and quickly,” comments Alan J. Nazzaro, ARH Chief Operating Officer. Before ARH, Nazzaro was serving as an Economic Development Specialist for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). “We named the company American Renaissance Homes for a reason. We not only believe in the rebirth of St. Bernard Parish, but we believe we have what it takes to have a “renaissance” around the country, especially in areas that are lacking affordable housing,” Nazzaro says.
William Kappel, ((Vice-President, Marketing and Public Relations)), who served as Team Lead for FEMA’s Long-Term Community Recovery Plan, says the entire concept was designed around the homeowner and making it easier to move on and hopefully find some normalcy after Katrina. As Kappel explains, “You just keep hearing these horror stories of homeowners having to go from place to place trying to get paperwork and other necessary items to begin rebuilding. What we’ve done is make it simple. ARH does it all for you, everything from filing of permits and licenses, to getting inspections to building and delivering a fully furnished, financed and insured home. The best part about it, you can move in within three months of signing.”
American Renaissance Partnerships
We can help with Financing, Insurance, and Design because of our strategic partnerships with others.