Who says all homes have to look the same? That’s what home builder Franklin Cruz asked when designing three houses in Lakeland’s Paul A. Diggs neighborhood. We stopped by the construction site for an inside look at the homes and to learn what inspired them.
Each one is topped with a butterfly roof, meaning the roof slopes downward to a point in the center (a design popular in midcentury modern architecture). These two-story houses will have three bedrooms and three bathrooms, plus a one-car garage. The inside of the houses will be expansive, with soaring ceilings up to 17 feet high. Coming in at 1,280 sqft, the starting cost for the first complete home will be $320,000.
Franklin is no stranger to the real estate investment business. After years in the field, he decided to get into construction with his own company, Elon Wright (named after two of his inspirations: Elon Musk and Frank Lloyd Wright). He built his first home for Habitat for Humanity on Vermont Avenue before working on these homes on West 13th and 14th streets.
The inspiration behind the unique design of the homes comes from Franklin’s desire to change up the construction scene — and these homes are anything but cookie-cutter. You can see the impact of Frank Lloyd Wright’s unique architecture style infused in each home he’s designed.
The first of these three homes at 720 W. 14th Ave. is expected to be complete in the next few weeks. Franklin’s crew will then start on the second and third homes at 716 W. 14th Ave. and 717 W. 13th Ave., respectively.
What’s next for Elon Wright? Franklin teased a full neighborhood he wants to construct elsewhere in Lakeland. We can feel the anticipation building.
