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Contractor returns home to help rebuild

By Erik Sanzenbach
St. Tammany News
Publication on: Friday, October 10, 2008 8:18 AM CDT

When homebuilder Frank Mooney returned to his hometown of Slidell in 2006, he had one goal in mind — to help his area rebuild after Katrina.

A graduate of Slidell High School and a Slidell native, Mooney had learned his craft by building homes in Florida, which had its own rebuilding boom after numerous hurricanes. He started Zephyr Homes and offered customers a unique service — one-stop shopping for either building or rebuilding a home.

“We work on everything from start to finish,” Mooney said.

His company has a crew that helps the prospective homeowner to find the financing for the house.

“We help get them down payments, grants, government loans, whatever it takes,” Mooney said. He added that his professional finance team will help hurricane victims wade through the murky waters of Road Home.

Another part of his company’s success is Mooney’s construction crews build in mass volume over scattered areas, unlike other contractors.

“We work with the individual’s needs, which is much more difficult,” Mooney said.

This self-described “Henry Ford of homebuilders” got the idea back in early 2006 when his Florida company rebuilt a house in east Slidell that had taken about 4 feet of water during Katrina. After the job, Mooney knew he had to come back permanently.

“I realized I needed to make the move back home. I’m very excited to be back home with all the great people here,” Mooney said.

His new system of building homes seems to be working. So far, Zephyr Homes has 80 contracts scattered over St. Tammany, St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Jefferson and Orleans parishes. Mooney thinks it is his subcontractors and his high-tech approach to building that has made him successful.

“I pay my subcontractors every week. They love me,” Mooney said.

Plus, every job is hooked up to the main office by computer. If there is a problem, it is conveyed immediately to the office to be solved in record time.

“Real time scheduling means you don’t have to wait for answers,” he said. If a plumber is needed to finish a job, the plumber is there quickly.

“We can build or rebuild in record time,” Mooney said.

 Frank Mooney, CEO of Zephyr Homes stands in front of a home in east Slidell that his company rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina. (Staff Photo by Erik Sanzenbach)

Mooney also claims his houses are built to last and to withstand storms.

He learned to build using the Florida building codes, and he builds homes here using those stricter standards.

“Our houses are like tanks — very strong,” Mooney said.

He also claims that because he builds “green,” his houses are very energy efficient.

“I can lower energy bills from $300 a month to $80 on rebuilt homes,” Mooney said.

And Zephyr Homes does not skimp on materials, according to Mooney. High-grade granite, insulation and appliances are some of the added features to the company’s homes.

Economically, Mooney sees his company making a very large impact on the local economy.

According to a study done by the Department of Economics at the University of New Orleans, Zephyr Homes projects to create 1,481 direct and indirect jobs and bring $87 million worth of construction to the five parishes the company serves.

The study states that, indirectly, Zephyr Homes could contribute $196 million to the local economy.

But Mooney said he really wants to help people rebuild after the storm.

“We want to work with the hopes and dreams of everybody here,” Mooney said.