Sandbar Architecture pitches local, federally experienced team for Hillsborough County CDBG-DR housing contract
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Summary
Sandbar Architecture presented to a Hillsborough County evaluation committee for RPS 25-00379, highlighting principal oversight, a nine-person staff, past FEMA/HUD projects and local Tarpon Springs presence; committee questioned staffing, licensure, prior clients and replicability of designs for Florida.
Sandbar Architecture presented to the Hillsborough County evaluation committee on Jan. 9 during oral interviews for RPS 25-00379, a solicitation for architectural and engineering services for the CDBG-DR single-family housing repair and replacement program.
Daniel Edgel, Sandbar’s owner and principal, told the committee the firm offers “proven public sector delivery, federal compliance expertise, and scalable production capacity” and that he would serve as the project point of contact. Edgel said the firm plans principal-level oversight while delegating administrative duties to maintain capacity during construction phases.
The firm described experience on federally funded relief and repair work, citing projects including Gulf Harbor Woodlands Clubhouse (FEMA involvement and floodplain mitigation), a Marathon airport hangar replacement after Hurricane Irma, the Gunther residence (floodplain and heritage-district constraints), and a HUD-funded replacement house completed in 2024 for Eden Inc. Edgel said the firm has experience with FEMA and HUD projects and has reviewed HUD Exchange training specific to CDBG-DR.
The committee’s questions focused on operational capacity, prior contracts and the local delivery of work. Chair Cheryl Howell asked about staff size and Florida licensure; Edgel replied the firm currently lists nine staff and said he and at least one other team member are licensed in Florida. When asked whether Sandbar held any direct disaster-recovery contracts, Edgel said it did not, though the firm has worked with a disaster vendor in the past.
Committee members sought clarification on who the firm had worked for on cited projects. Edgel said the Marathon project was municipal (the airport), the clubhouse work involved a homeowners’ association and property manager, and the Jefferson Residences and WRJ duplex examples were privately funded; Edgel said some private projects were seeking federal grant support. On the Gunther project, Edgel said the firm pursued Elevate Florida funding but the Tarpon Springs projects did not receive it.
On technical staffing, the committee asked how consultants would participate. Edgel said consultant involvement would vary by project scope; consultants would support required administrative record-keeping and technical tasks as appropriate. When asked who would conduct assessments and inspections, Edgel said he and structural engineer George Mohan would be responsible for those duties.
Design replicability also drew questions. Adam Rose Kelley, Sandbar’s design director, said the firm’s small-house and WRJ duplex designs (including a shipping-container-based duplex) could be implemented in Florida and were developed with durability and hurricane-resistant considerations in mind.
Ethan Kersey, the county buyer who ran the session, closed by reminding attendees the meeting was being recorded and posted later, asked firms to monitor the county’s solicitation notices (referred to in the record as “Yuna”), and noted the committee would meet again at 3:15 p.m.
No formal votes or contract awards were taken at the session; the interview was a procurement evaluation step in the competitive solicitation process.
