The owner of vacant apartments in Beulah hopes he can fill them with displaced hurricane victims.

Michael Marcil, whose investment company owns three apartment complexes in Beulah, said he's offered the furnished apartments to Hurricane Katrina victims through the Federal Emergency Management Administration and a private relief agency.

Marcil said he has vacant furnished apartments at Century View Condos, Parkway Apartments and Fox Meadow Apartments that recently have been renovated and are ready for occupancy.

He said the relief agency has a family group of 90 people who are ready to move, but it's not clear yet whether they'll take up the North Dakota offer.

"They want to move now," he said. "The big issue is transportation."

He said the relief agency can probably move people faster than FEMA. He said he expects some answer as soon as this week, though it could take longer.

He said he's got 47 vacant places and room for up to 200.

Marcil, who opened Direct Response computer software in Beulah several years ago, said his company would be willing to donate the use of the apartments, at least for some of the victims' stay.

He said people could be accommodated in the Beulah apartments for as little as $1,000 in lodging for the six months, compared to 10 times that cost in other locations.

Marcil said his investment company, Dakota Real Estate Fund, also may accelerate the purchase of some senior and handicapped accessible housing in New Salem and Glen Ullin. They'd like to provide housing for hurricane victims that are harder to place because of their condition.

He said the victims will have to do a gut check when they hear of available housing in North Dakota.

"They're going to say, 'I'm not going to do that,' or 'It would be a real adventure,' " he said. "The housing is the easy part. I could put them in there now."

Anyone who wants to contact Marcil can reach him at 650-563-9402, or his Grand Forks office staff at 777-6506.

State officials have also put together a plan to shelter refugees in military and subsidized housing, though Gov. John Hoeven says no request has come from the Gulf Coast.

The North Dakota National Guard's Camp Grafton near Devils Lake could house up to 200 refugees and the Air National Guard base in Fargo another 100, Hoeven said Tuesday.

The military bases would serve as staging areas for the refugees, who eventually would be sheltered around the state.

Hoeven's office said there are about 1,500 available housing units around the state that could house a minimum of about 3,000 refugees.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)