The ribbon cutting for Presidential Cottages was held on May 8. Cars wound down the long drive. Rows of Paulownia trees sprouted nearby, their large leaves reminiscent of catalpa. A warehouse, another remnant of an abandoned bio-diesel project, held several houses in various stages of construction.

Wayne Johnson is the founder and President of Presidential Cottages, a home-building company that seeks to provide affordable housing at a high standard. White-haired with a worker’s tan, Johnson could easily be spotted greeting ribbon-cutting guests and prospective investors, sharing his vision from one to the next.

Housing has been an issue much talked about in Sumter, and a few local leaders appeared to show interest. Both Americus City manager Diadra Powell and President of Phoebe Sumter Carlyle Walton were in attendance.

A few may recognize Johnson’s name. He challenged Sanford Bishop in the previous election; a long-time incumbent few expected him to unseat. Wayne considers it a narrow loss. Undaunted by failure, he plans to run again, though his current project seems to give him plenty of work.

Johnson credit’s Carter’s commitment to housing as an inspiration, with the seed for this specific project planted by a conversation they had after a Habitat build was delayed by a lack of parts. With his company’s kits and premade homes, delayed parts are a problem Johnson hopes to fix.

His pragmatism drew Carter’s attention. Wayne still recalls one Carter compliment fondly. “Wayne, what I like about you is, you give a damn.”

For a former democratic president, the compliment was unusual. Wayne, a Republican, administered the student loan program in the previous Trump administration. “Bottom line, he knew I was doing good work, noble work, and he knew that I was committed to helping the students and their families.”

Presidential Cottages aims to build six homes a week, in two different styles. Johnson gave tours of the examples, pointing out details like internal insulation for noise control, and the kitchen-hallway combo to save space. “We got the pre-crafted product, which rolls out like you see it.” The company adds the porch and roof on site. “We can even put a wrap-around porch on that.”

In addition to pre-assembled homes, they also make them IKEA-style. “We’ve got the assembly package, which is the same thing as the old Sears kit homes.”
The homes are small, though not quite tiny-home sized. Johnson opted for something a little more spacious, producing a shot-gun style dwelling, planning for them to last longer than a fad.

He also wants them rugged. “We decided that we were going to build units that met the building code standards of any place in the United States.” While his homes remain untested, they are designed to be wildfire resistant.

Johnson is enthusiastic about the price tag. “I believe we’re gonna be able to fix it so people can buy one of these and live in it for less than $1,000 a month, and buy it and live in it with a utility payment for less than $140 a month.”