The groundbreaking at 1390 Marechalneil Street looked like every other groundbreaking: hard hats, shiny shovels, a fresh mound of sand. The paperwork underneath it is the part worth talking about. ABODE, the Orange Mound Community Land Trust, is putting up 12 homes built to stay affordable long after the first owner moves in.
The model splits the deed. The buyer owns the house and builds equity through a mortgage. The trust keeps the land. When it sells, the owner takes a share of the appreciation and the rest stays with the property, holding the price within reach for the next family in line. “Part of the equity will stay with the home, for future generations,” said Felicia Harris of the Memphis Division of Housing and Community Development.
The first home runs single story, three bedrooms, two full baths and roughly 1,430 heated square feet, with ADA features and MLGW EcoBUILD construction that trims energy use by about 30 percent. Eleven more are coming on parcels the trust already owns. Advisory committee member Rasheedah Jones said the quiet part out loud: “Ownership is key. And in Orange Mound, that means something.”
