As Booker Washington grew up in South Fulton, he noticed his community continuously being left out of the changes that occurred in metropolitan neighborhoods.
“For South Fulton…it was the most important place to start because it’s the place that’s being left out of the process…people have wanted to live in North Atlanta or in Atlanta, so as a result, some populations are being pushed into South Fulton, but South Fulton has been underdeveloped for years. This was the perfect place to start building,” says Washington.
Techie Homes’ mission is to build accessible and affordable micro homes that are innovative in terms of their architecture and technology, and how that makes more efficient homes work better for the people who live in them. With the average price of buying a home in Atlanta being as high as $400,000, Washington seems to have found an option of homebuying that cuts that price in half.
“My passion in building micro homes isn’t just because they’re small homes, but because there are so many people being left out…because of rising costs and being left out of the ability to grow wealth,” Washington states proudly.
When asked about the modernization of the micro homes’ designs, Washington says he is inspired by experiences in escapism.
“Everything in your life is about experience. People have value in what they experience. It’s the same reason people escape to go to the beach... People want to have access to better experiences. So why build cookie-cutter homes that don't aesthetically give pride [when] homeownership is so important and expensive? Why not have something that you’re proud of every time you pull into the driveway, or every time you open up your door and say, ‘Hey, welcome to my home’? You want to have something that you're proud about.”
“Homes and homeownership is a place where people have a lot of pride, and their homes should…indicate that pride…something that they’d want to show off to other people. I want to build homes that will aesthetically prove to people that you can have pride in what you do.”
As South Park Cottages became the first Black, minority-built micro-community in the U.S. having created almost 30 units, Washington knew that his efforts in providing an affordable homeowner experience were just the beginning. Washington is building another similar community in #SoFu in Union City following the sold-out success of the micro homes. South Park Cottages can be found in #SoFu in College Park on Godby Road just 15 minutes from downtown Atlanta, and not too far from Atlanta-Hartfield Jackson International Airport.
For more information, contact SouthParkCottages.com.
