To locals and businesses, it can just as equally be a tool to uplift historically destitute communities with finite resources to combat long standing challenges facing communities with improper funding; the latter sentiment is one Muskegon local Rodney Riley held close when considering and designing his most recent project: Accordion Homes, a 3D printing construction service that is capable of printing a row of up to five two-story townhomes in a matter of days rather than months.
“In the 90s, The city of Muskegon was working on Project 2000,” Riley stated. “It outlined much of the pre-development that has happened that sparked the development that is still going on. As part of the plan, the city reached out to the black clergy to include the Black community in the plan. There was no consensus among those ‘leaders.’ Ultimately, the plan included a ‘to be developed’ section for when leaders emerged in the black community.”
Riley, who has worked in information technology and software engineering for nearly two decades years, was appointed President of the plan that was part of Project 2000. While Riley vacated his position prior to the plan’s completion, he remained persistent in his goal to construct and help resolve affordable housing within the community of Muskegon, and the only aspect of his method that changed was the process.
“In 2020 I watched a 3D concrete printer work and realized I’d missed it,” Riley mentioned. The breakthrough was never the material; It was the machine.”
While Accordion Homes is still in the development stages, Riley continues to remain passionate about his vision to grow home ownership within African American communities in Muskegon while working to make housing more affordable. With assessments conducted by the City of Muskegon staff in 2022 estimating a need for more than 3,000 more housing units by 2027, the need for innovations such as those Riley is attempting to fund are much needed for the betterment of Muskegon’s lower income families. As of 2024, according to collected U.S. Census Bureau data, the median household income for a family in the Greater Muskegon Area was approximately $65,024 and $44,735 for the City of Muskegon, respectively.
“I am trying to self-fund, as other attempts have failed,” Riley mentioned. “I have tried every local funding source, including grants and investors. It was shocking that money was easily given for restaurant endeavors and the like but not the affordability crisis. I have found more favorable funding opportunities outside, apart from the local options.”
Riley hopes to deploy printers along with their four-person build teams to more than 100 cities across the country. He is currently looking to hire builders, real estate agents, plumbers, roofers, and foundation specialists to assist in the home-building process. Riley quietly continues to work on this project behind the scenes as a member of the Livability Lab initiatives developed by Access Health in Muskegon.
“The only thing that’s ever slowed this down, then or now, is funding,” Riley concluded. “Everything else I already solved on paper thirty years ago. This is what that blank line was always supposed to become.”
To learn more about what Accordion Homes has to offer or inquire regarding support or funding for the project, visit accordion.homes.
