A College Park developer of affordable micro-homes says some residents’ criticism of his South Park Cottages do not reflect most of the 29 homeowners in the community.
Developer Booker T. Washington of Techie Homes celebrated the opening of South Park Cottages last year and is developing a second community in Union City.
It’s a project that Union City Mayor Vince Williams is looking forward to and believes it will bring in the type of diverse housing options that the city desires, Union City spokesperson Darryl Terry said.
Washington said the sleek luxury-styled, 670-square-foot units at his new project, Union Park, are 70 percent sold-out.
South Park Cottages, though, has been criticized by a portion of its residents who say they experienced structure and insulation problems, flooding, insufficient heating and air and other issues in their units.
Luz Castillo, a prospective resident, said she forfeited an $11,500 deposit due to her concerns and decided not to move in.
Pushing back, Washington says he hired a contractor to build the community with top-rated materials. Repairs and structural problems are common in new housing developments and Washington addresses each one as they arise, he said.
Thursday, workers were creating drainage trenches with basins outside homes to stop rainwater from collecting inside the units, a worker said on video provided by resident Tanya Wright.
When a winter freeze caused the outside tankless water heaters to break in January, Washington replaced all of them. The maker of the heaters, Rheem Manufacturing Company, said the heaters are made to be located indoors.
Last spring, Wright and resident Etienne Brown shared their experiences with College Park City Council during a regular meeting and asked the elected body to intervene. College Park officials later met with the two residents and Washington in hope of finding a middle ground on the progress of repairs.
At that time, Wright’s outside deck on the upper level of her home was being rebuilt for the third time. After moving in, her leg fell through part of the deck floor.
Washington’s inspiration to build
Washington says most residents at South Park Cottages are happy with the purchase of their homes. He offered to provide SaportaReport with contact information for some of those residents, but he later said they declined.
Last May, residents spoke out in support of Washington during public comment at a College Park council meeting, which was two weeks after Wright and Brown’s plea to officials. Six residents said they were happy living at South Park Cottages including one resident who was gifted a home by Washington.
The developer told SaportaReport that he was inspired to create the micro-home communities because of his mother’s financial struggles. His single mother of three sons died 12 years ago, Washington said.
“Growing up in apartments, all we knew was you move from one place to another every 12 months,” he said. “We knew nothing about home ownership. We knew nothing about how to get to home ownership…”
“One of the main reasons I built it… is to bring long-term financial benefits to the people of the communities that we build,” Washington said.
In 2023, his South Park Cottages was awarded Honorable Mention in Regional Excellence by the Atlanta Regional Commission.
Washington has also received praise through national media attention for offering affordable homeownership in College Park, where more than 70 percent of the city’s population are renters, according to real estate websites.
The 29 homes at South Park Cottages and Union Park are priced less than $250,000.
Diverse quality builds
Wright says of unhappy residents, “We’re still fighting today about issues.”
She is now reaching out to Union City Council about South Park Cottages.
In response to inquiries from SaportaReport, Union City spokesperson Terry said Mayor Williams, City Manager Sonja Fillingame and the Community Development department are “excited” about the coming of Union Park micro-homes.
“They are excited about more housing options and different housing stock amongst all of our different types of residents,” Terry said.
Will Johnston, executive director of MicroLife Institute, said that while he doesn’t have insight into how South Park Cottages was built, he supports Washington’s goals.
MicroLife is a nonprofit national housing developer.
“I believe in what he’s doing… He is trying to put together a vision. We need that type of density.” Johnston said of housing in metro Atlanta.
Washington adds that homebuyers should be educated about the home that they are purchasing. Several at South Park Cottages said they did not hire their own home inspector prior to moving in.
“I stand behind the quality of that community,” he said. “Purchasing a home… should be on your education and purpose to know what your buying…”
I invite the Adrianne Murchison to return and do a follow up article on how many owners have move, sold or renting out their property.
Developing at density is challenging. Land planning/ water control is particularly difficult. Please consider the unseasonal weather Atlanta has experienced in the recent years. Exceptionally long cold spells, monsoon level rains. Flooding has occurred everywhere. I applaud the developers vision. I can’t comment on the construction issues but it seems the developer has stood by his product. It takes bravery to do something different. Bravo.
Interesting read! It’s great to see new micro‑homes offering affordable options, but resident concerns about quality definitely need attention. Hope the developer keeps listening and improving!