BATON ROUGE, La. – Chris Cheramie isn't a Katrina victim, but he was surprised to learn he is the first person to occupy a home of a kind specifically designed to shelter Louisiana residents displaced by the storm.

Cheramie unknowingly purchased a prototype of the Louisiana Cottage, a long-awaited alternative to the flimsy government-issued trailers that have housed tens of thousands of Gulf Coast hurricane victims.

In December 2006, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced a $74.5 million grant for Louisiana to build about 500 cottages. More than 18 months later, the state hasn't produced a single unit for storm victims.

But the contractor waiting to build cottages for Katrina survivors sold a virtually identical version to Cheramie, 34, who moved to Baton Rouge earlier this year.

“I thought they were building them in New Orleans, where they need them,” said Cheramie, a first-time homeowner who found the $118,000 cottage more affordable than a condominium.

While Louisiana's Alternative Housing Pilot Program has bogged down in red tape and clashes between state officials and private contractors, thousands of cottages already dot Mississippi's Gulf Coast: Mississippi has spent most of its $281 million share of federal funding to build more than 2,700 cottages for families that were living in FEMA trailers.

Delays in Louisiana's cottage-building program have turned it into a symbol for the modest pace of the state's storm recovery. The delays also bolster a perception that Mississippi has been more effective than Louisiana in employing federal aid in Katrina's aftermath.

State and federal officials say it isn't fair to compare programs because Louisiana sought out cottage designs that could serve as long-term housing while Mississippi focused on quickly producing smaller but sturdier replacements for trailers.

The Louisiana project's developer, Cypress Realty Partners, plans to build cottages ranging from 612-square-foot, two-bedroom units to 1,112-square-foot, three-bedroom units. Mississippi's cottages range from 400 to 840 square feet.

“Louisiana chose to do something different – more permanent in nature – and not have something that moves on wheels,” said Paul Rainwater, executive director of the Louisiana Recovery Authority. “This program was not in a position to be expedited.”

That doesn't mean Rainwater is satisfied with the program's pace.

“Is it moving as fast as I want? Absolutely not,” he said.

Former Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco put the state's Housing Finance Agency in charge of the program. Before leaving office last year, Blanco ordered construction of the cottages to begin by the end of November 2007, a target since missed.

The Louisiana Recovery Authority, which was created by Blanco to manage the state's recovery, took over the project from the housing agency early in 2008 after Gov. Bobby Jindal was sworn in.

The agency said Friday it had signed a contract with Baton Rouge-based Cypress, but the contract awaits further state review.

Cypress spokesman Ben Dupuy said the Louisiana Housing Finance Agency didn't give the program the attention it needed. He said the company has done everything it could to advance the program and he had confidence that the Louisiana Recovery Authority would make good progress.

The idea of building cottages to replace FEMA trailers emerged from an October 2005 brainstorming session by architects who gathered in Biloxi, Miss.

Andres Duany, an architect who helped organized that post-Katrina gathering, said FEMA smartly decided to fund different kinds of cottage projects in Louisiana and Mississippi based on their different needs.

Duany blamed Louisiana's delays on staffing.

Mississippi officials dedicated 50 staff members to its program while the LRA dedicated just two.

Rainwater said he now hopes to have the first Louisiana Cottage built by Aug. 29, the third anniversary of Katrina.

For Mississippi resident Katherine St. Amant, her cottage was a welcome step up from a FEMA trailer.

“It's just right for me,” said the 59-year-old woman, adding that she'd like to buy her cottage as her permanent home. “I could see living in it forever.”