Civic Saint, a Kansas City business, is dedicated to providing affordable and artistic housing options for the community. They plan to build homes using compressed earth blocks (CEBs) as a way to increase homeownership opportunities, particularly for the Black community. These CEBs are made from sand, clay, soil, lime or cement water and offer benefits such as strength, cost-effectiveness and sustainability.
Godfrey Riddle, president and founder of Civic Saint, started the company in 2020 based on his own experiences growing up in Kansas City where his parents struggled with homeownership. He believes that by providing more people, especially those from the Black community, with access to homeownership everyone can benefit.
The homes built by Civic Saint are estimated to cost around $100,000 to build 850 square feet with plans to sell them for $130,000-$140,000. The first project for Civic Saint will be a tiny home in Montgall Park with future plans to expand and build in other neighborhoods in need of affordable housing options.
Riddle emphasizes the importance of offering a variety of housing options such as single-family homes townhouses and small apartment complexes so that people have more opportunities to own property and build wealth. He also aims to incorporate art into the design of the homes reflecting the unique character of each neighborhood.
Civic Saint has partnered with GEM Cultural and Education Center for KC Design Week to showcase an example facade of homes built with CEBs. A public forum will be held on April 25th at kcdesignweek.org where tickets can be purchased online