We are building a factory that repeats one house, not a pretty website that pretends a factory already exists.
The customer-facing product is a conventional-looking 2,500-SF ICF house. The partner-facing product is a $5 million Phase-1 manufacturing platform with a locked hybrid architecture, a designed bill of materials, and an engineering target that is not yet achieved. Those two stories are the same company. We do not hold the hard parts back from partners.
The deal in one screen
We are not trying to build the cheapest-looking house. We are trying to build the cheapest house to manufacture that still looks expensive. Finish packages do the looking. The skeleton does the repeating.
Two companies. Do not collapse them.
The product we are actually manufacturing
2 stories + small footprint + ICF exterior walls + engineered floor cassette + simple engineered roof + standardized components. Not “shingles = cheap.” The roof covering is architectural shingles because, for this factory, a simple engineered wood roof cassette is the lowest-cost complete roof when stacked on the two-story hybrid. ICF’s premium is primarily the wall system; the roof is generally outside that premium.
| Rank | Model | Target | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2-story Hybrid ICF | $48–$55/SF | 🥇 Cheapest. Half the foundation and roof of a ranch. Garage and interior partitions stay lightweight. ICF only where it earns. |
| 2 | 1-story Hybrid ICF | $58–$65/SF | Much more foundation + roof for the same living area. |
| 3 | 2-story full ICF | ~$60–$70/SF | More concrete / structural material than the hybrid. |
| 4 | 1-story full ICF | ~$60–$70/SF | Biggest structural footprint. |
| 5 | ICF / concrete roof version (FORTRESS) | Higher | Not the affordable model. Premium after the base economics are proven. |
Code path: IRC as adopted by Louisiana, permanent foundation, factory-built modular. Not HUD-code. Not a container. 50-state ambition is a certification and inspection program — not a machine we buy in Phase 1.
Two cost numbers — both stay in the file
Both numbers stay in the file. We do not quote $50/SF as if the BOM already landed there. We do not hide the designed ~$92/SF from partners.
Path from ~$92/SF to $50/SF
Gap: $105,949 per house on the designed complete-house BOM. Closing it is the engineering work. Pretending it is already closed is how a file dies.
- The designed BOM is a nearly turnkey factory house (appliances, finishes, packaging, warranty). $50/SF is a production target, not that BOM with a magic marker.
- Geometry already does the heavy lift: two stories, four corners, wet core, garage not ICF, shingle cassette not concrete roof.
- Volume contracts on forms, rebar, windows, HVAC, and appliances have to beat the planning-estimate unit costs.
- Labor has to fall with repetition — 920 hours is a first-article-ish complete house, not a learned takt.
- Some finish may stay a site/package choice so factory COGS is structure + envelope + MEP + kitchen/bath modules, not every retail upgrade.
- A prototype with actual minutes and invoices is the only number a partner should underwrite. Until then both figures stay in the file: designed ~$92/SF and target $50/SF.
$5,000,000 uses — the ceiling does not move
Preferred stack: 504 on land + building + site ($1.75M) and 7(a) ITL on equipment, fleet, and working capital ($3.25M). Same $5M uses. Equity still 10% of total project costs. Do not double-finance assets.
Single $5M 7(a) ITL covering everything, including $1.75M of 504-eligible real estate. Working capital inside ITL = $1.875M (under the $2M cap). Honest, but a CDC will ask why land and building are not on 504.
| Use | Program | Amount |
|---|---|---|
12-acre land acquisition Master-planned from Day 1. $50,000/acre is a target, not an appraisal. Replace with a contract and environmental. | 504-eligible | $600,000 |
30,000-SF factory building $28.33/SF. That is a used or relocated metal building / existing industrial purchase — not new Class A construction ($90–$150/SF would blow the ceiling by itself). | 504-eligible | $850,000 |
Site development / utilities / yard Production yard first, pretty parking last. Stormwater, truck drives, utility taps, fencing. | 504-eligible | $300,000 |
Manufacturing equipment Every Phase-1 machine that turns purchased inputs into a house. No EPS molding plant. No fiber laser. No robotics. | 7a-capex | $900,000 |
Material handling / cranes Gantry/jib, not a $400k bridge-crane package. Forklifts used/late-model. | 7a-capex | $175,000 |
Trucks / trailers / field erection fleet Two used tractors, trailers, pickup, telehandler, mini-ex, skid steer. Mobile crane is contracted, not owned. | 7a-capex | $300,000 |
Engineering / product development PE stamps, typicals, BOM, first-article engineering. Not a year of a 12-person engineering department. | 7a-wc | $250,000 |
Certification / testing / code approvals Louisiana first. 50-state matrix started. Accredited-lab tests. Not 50 certificates on Day 1. | 7a-wc | $150,000 |
Technology / BIM / ERP / MES / QMS Digital thread starter stack. Seats and servers, not a custom MES build. | 7a-wc | $100,000 |
Initial inventory / materials Safety stock + first-article houses. Not a quarter of national volume. | 7a-wc | $300,000 |
Core executive / engineering payroll during startup Not a year of $200k–$300k elite salaries. Founder draw + CMO launch contract + CTO + controller + quality + production supervisor, with burden. | 7a-wc | $400,000 |
Insurance / legal / accounting / permits GL, product, WC, auto, property, inland marine, umbrella, cyber, entity work, CPA, permits. | 7a-wc | $125,000 |
Operating / working-capital reserve Payroll float, utilities, receivables lag, crane rental, oversize permits, warranty, surprises. This is how the plant actually operates. | 7a-wc | $550,000 |
| Phase-1 uses | $5,000,000 |
- Ceiling does not move. $5,000,000 Phase-1 uses. Extra machines go to Phase 2.
- 10% cash equity is additional, not buried inside the $5M.
- Building at $850k / 30k SF ≈ $28/SF → used or relocated industrial, not a new Class A plant.
- Payroll $400k is not a year of elite executives.
- Crane is contracted, not owned.
- Equipment prices are estimates pending vendor quotes. Internal SKUs only (EQ-…). Serial / VIN / heat / lot = TBD at invoice / receiving. We do not invent them.
- 90% ITL is a guarantee to the lender. Paparazzi Marketing Group LLC is not a WCP borrower.
- Working capital inside the ITL is $1.875M, under the $2M cap.
Every equipment price in this file is an estimate for planning. It is not a vendor quote, not an appraisal, and not a bid. Terry + industrial + structural + manufacturing engineering write specifications and RFQs before a major machine is purchased. Replace this schedule with quoted amounts before SBA authorization.
A company-owned all-terrain crane does not fit inside $300k fleet if trucks also exist. Crane access is a contracted operating cost in the $550k reserve until utilization pays to buy.
Line-item budget & collateralMake vs buy — the factory’s intelligence is the product
Manufacture the complete ICF housing system in-house over time. Do not manufacture every commodity. Make the components that give cost, speed, quality, and IP advantage.
Three phases. Phase 1 is the only one this $5M buys.
People — named only when real
This package does not treat Terry Washington’s title or ICF Manuco as a proven fact until Appendix B contains a résumé, references, and a signed Manufacturing Leadership Agreement. Public search does not currently confirm the affiliation. Empty boxes are better than invented credentials.
The proposed ICF manufacturing company is a new venture that has not been named or formed. It would manufacture standardized ICF modular housing through a management structure that combines Paparazzi Marketing Group LLC’s existing operations (since 2011) and market development with direct leadership from an experienced ICF manufacturing executive, subject to executed agreements and verification.
Do not write that the proposed manufacturer has operated since 2011. Do not write that Paparazzi has manufacturing experience. Do not treat any draft factory name as a formed borrower. Do not write that Terry Washington currently operates a named plant unless Appendix B proves it.
Board of five
Independent seats stay empty until a real person is under a director agreement. We do not invent names.
| Seat | Who | Competency |
|---|---|---|
| Chair | Philbert Andre Honore | Ownership, strategy, capital, business history |
| Director — Manufacturing | Independent manufacturing executive — to be named. Empty box until a real person is under a director agreement. | Factory, production lines, Lean, workforce, commissioning |
| Director — Technology | Principal’s sister — only if she actually performs CTO/CDO duties. Not a credential for the 1919. | Computer science, digital manufacturing architecture |
| Director — Housing / Construction | Independent — to be named. Modular / residential / codes experience. | Factory-built housing, building products, codes |
| Director — Finance / Audit | Independent CPA / CFO / industrial-finance professional — to be named. | Financial governance, SBA/capital, audit oversight |
How a partner actually plugs in
The Horton fight — with the bath-count honesty
The Bayou 2500 is 4 bed / 2.5 bath. Several Horton comps are 3-bath — we are not pretending the bath count matches. The fight is more house, better structure, better flow, better presentation, and a lower all-in if the factory hits the $50/SF target. Until the prototype, that sentence is the objective, not a delivered price.
| Plan | Community | SF | Beds/baths/garage | About |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakdale | Lakeshore Villages | 2,453 | 4/3/2 | $373,000 |
| Tallulah | Lakeshore Villages | 2,706 | 4/3/2 | $390,000 |
| Ozark | Bonterra | 2,484 | 4/3/2 | $337,000 |
| Ledoux | Lakeshore Villages | 2,051 | 4/2/2 | $289,000 |
Listing prices below are the sponsor’s verified D.R. Horton Slidell-area inventory as of this draft. They are marketing comparisons, not a formal appraisal or an apples-to-apples specification match. Replace with dated listing printouts in the data room before a lender uses them. Graphic comparisons elsewhere are approximate; these four are the ones to beat.
What we will not spend this money on
- No $500,000 ‘AI factory’ as a brand. Digital thread is BIM → BOM → cut list → production → QC → shipping. If the software already has automation or AI, we use it. We do not buy robots to say we are an AI manufacturer.
- No ICF / concrete roof on the affordable standard. That is FORTRESS, later.
- No Day-1 EPS molding plant, steam plant, or batch plant.
- No fiber laser, powder coat, or robotic cells in Phase 1.
- No manufacturing of glass, appliances, HVAC compressors, cement from limestone, or steel from ore.
- No 100,000 SF Class A building.
- No 50-state certificates on Day 1. All 50 states is a certification and inspection program, not a machine.
- No HUD-code chassis as the base product unless we later design that pathway on purpose.
- No $500,000 futuristic AI factory
- No AI robots as a brand story
- No ICF/concrete roof as the affordable standard
- No elaborate roof geometry, dormers, valleys, architectural gimmicks
- No standing-seam metal as standard
- No expensive exterior panels that do not change the skeleton
- No Day-1 EPS molding plant
- No manufacturing glass, appliances, HVAC compressors, or cement from limestone