Godfrey Riddle, a Kansas City native, founded Civic Saint in 2020 with a mission to create affordable and artistic housing options for the community. Inspired by his own experiences of struggling with homeownership as a child, he believes that everyone should have access to this basic right.
The company’s flagship product is compressed earth blocks (CEBs), which are made from a mix of sand, clay, soil, lime, or cement water. These blocks offer numerous benefits such as strength, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability. They are also versatile and can be used to construct a variety of housing options including single-family homes, townhouses and small apartment complexes.
Civic Saint plans to build homes using these CEBs in hopes of increasing homeownership opportunities for the Black community in particular. 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 to give people more opportunities to own property and build wealth. He also aims to incorporate art into the design of the homes to reflect the unique character of each neighborhood. By doing so he hopes that people will see that affordable housing doesn’t have to be boring or cookie-cutter but it can be beautiful and meaningful too.
Civic Saint has partnered with the 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 more information about this innovative housing solution can be shared and tickets can be purchased.