Williams (centre) giving a talk to his former Collins Academy High School students as they view a home under construction, which they all helped to design.
Marshall Douthard Jr, 19, can picture himself on the expansive balcony of the single-family home that looks out over Chicago’s Garfield Park neighbourhood in the United States, a house that he helped build.
“Just walking out in a robe, with a cup of coffee in the morning,” he said.
“Even in the winter?” I asked.
“That’s the best time,” he said.
It won’t be his house, but Douthard was envisioning himself living on West 5th Avenue, a street filled with at least a dozen vacant lots and rows of existing houses, where three new homes were recently constructed with the help of about 10 graduates, including Douthard, of the Collins Academy High School in North Lawndale.
The guys worked with their onetime football coach, computer science teacher and mentor, Lawon Williams, and architect Bryan Hudson, to design the homes and watch them come together from start to finish – while also occasionally being put to work removing fences and putting up drywall.
Williams (centre) giving a talk to his former Collins Academy High School students as they view a home under construction, which they all helped to design. — Photos: TNS Former Collins Academy High School students tour a house they helped design in the 4200 block of West 5th Avenue in Chicago.
The project started in early 2020, with Williams recruiting students from the Collins football team.
Williams bought vacant lots and fundraised through a nonprofit he started called TechCo Savvy Inc, an after-school programme that aims to expose youths age 13 to 20 to jobs in STEM fields. By teaching them about architectural design, Williams is showing the men how to apply science, technology, engineering and math in future careers.
“We need to be the change that needs to be done in our community,” Williams said. “Most of the ideology is to get out of the hood, but in theory, (neighbourhoods like Wicker Park) were once the hood too. And in designing our community, the thought is to come back to the hood, build in the hood... and be truly invested in the community.”
Williams talking about the work involved to design and construct a home with former Collins Academy High School students.
The former students and Williams gave the Tribune a tour of the new home that sold for US$600,000 (RM2.7mil) in December.
Williams describes the homes as “affordable luxury” in a part of the city he calls a “hidden gem area”, one that is centrally located and has nearby transit stops and bike lanes.
The homes boast five bedrooms, four and a half bathrooms, rooftop decks, front yards, large windows and walk-in closets, all with modern design.
One graduate described the home’s stairs as like in “the movies”; another, who works as a barber, said the lighting is particularly good on the second floor for cutting hair; a third said he appreciates how many bathrooms there are because he lives in a house with nine people and two bathrooms.
(From left) Mayes, Fox, Goss and Jeremiah Kelton laughing and conversing inside a house they helped design.
Some of the design elements were intentional. The rooftop balcony was built in lieu of a front porch because of the violence in the neighbourhood, Williams said. There are two bedrooms on the bottom floor imagined for college students to have a space to return home to and three bedrooms upstairs, including a primary bedroom and one dubbed the “favourite child room” by Williams.
Williams estimates each home costs about US$400,000 (RM1.8mil) to build; he foot the bill by raising money from corporate sponsors and putting in much of his own salary. Williams said he resigned from his job at Collins at the end of last year to focus on his nonprofit full time.
The homes are nearby Charles Sumner Math & Science Community Academy, an elementary and middle school in Garfield Park that the graduates and Williams attended and one where Williams recruits students for his after-school programme.
Many of the Collins graduates said they had no experience with construction and design prior to working with Williams and are now considering careers related to their project experiences.
(optional) (From left) Goss, Fox and Kelton playfully showing off kitchen appliances during a tour of a house they helped design.
Edward Mayes, 19, said he expected the construction process to be “way easier”.
“I didn’t know about all the materials and costs... and all the phone calls you had to make to get the project and everything done,” Mayes said.
Now, Mayes said he can see himself somehow making this a career.
Marlon Smith, 19, wants to follow in his mother’s footsteps to be an accountant, a job that will require math skills he honed when budgeting for the development of the homes.
Douthard, who pictured himself drinking coffee on the balcony, is pursuing a certificate in construction management.
Shaun Goss, 19, is also going back to school to study construction. J’son Kelton, 18, wants to become an educator because of this experience.
Hudson, the owner of SOMA Design Consultants and the architect for the project, said it was a great opportunity for the youths to see the design evolve from concept to a full-scale model. And it is important for them to see Black architects like himself working in the communities that they are from, he said.
“A lot of times they... don’t even see (the job) as an option,” Hudson said. “But if they walk up to the jobsite and see you with your hard hat on and your boots and ask, ‘What are you doing?’ And I say, ‘I am the architect,’ they think, ‘I can do this’.”
Williams’ goal for the next couple of years is to continue to build new homes on the two vacant lots he owns next door, including one home that he will buy for himself.
He also wants to build a community centre in the neighbourhood with a STEM-focused co-working space, a cafe, a fitness centre and sports facilities.
The money from the current project’s home sales will go toward future projects, said Williams, who won’t be reimbursed for the money he provided. Of the three adjacent homes, the second house went on the market this month, and the third one will be listed for sale soon.
The graduates said they are proud of their mentor.
Keontay Fox, 20, said Williams is a good role model because he came from the same background as the students, and Williams carried out this project, which was his first homebuilding experience.
“I couldn’t even imagine all of us in this room right now,” Fox said. “It just feels good and looks good to accomplish this.” – Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service
