Scott Turner Says If Affordable Housing Were A Football Game, ‘We’re Going Into The Fourth Quarter’

Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary and former NFL player Scott Turner told The Daily Wire that if affordable housing were a football game, Americans would be heading into the fourth quarter. 

“End of the third, beginning of the fourth,” he told The Daily Wire. “We’re going into the fourth quarter very strong and with a great game plan. We will finish strong and win for the American people.” 

The game plan leans on the private sector. “The private sector is the answer. The federal government is a great facilitator of talent, a great convener of people, but the answers and solutions are in the private sector,” Turner said. 

That approach was on display this week at HUD’s Innovative Housing Showcase on the National Mall, where builders presented designs aimed at lowering housing costs. Among them was Cavco’s Grande Arbor, which the company describes as the first HUD-code manufactured home built without a permanent steel chassis.

Cavco’s design marked a departure from a federal requirement dating back to 1974 that required manufactured homes to be built on a permanent chassis — the steel frame helps transport the home and remains underneath it after installation. Critics argued that with less than 5-7% of manufactured homes moved after initial placement, it was time to do away with the steel chassis, which could save $5,000 to $10,000 per home. For some mobile homes, that amount saves buyers 10% or more.

Turner publicly advocated changing the requirement, calling for HUD to work with Congress to give manufacturers greater flexibility. Congress ultimately eliminated the mandate through the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which became law in July. For Turner, the change illustrates his broader housing strategy: give builders more room to innovate — and fewer government requirements to build around.

Other exhibits focused on making construction more efficient. The University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute demonstrated an artificial intelligence program designed to help construction managers monitor job sites. “What should AI find?” the program asked. Managers could select from a menu of options to identify workers, tools such as hammers, and safety equipment, including vests and hard hats. The potential payoff is less time spent on manual monitoring and earlier detection of safety hazards that could lead to injuries and costly delays. Over time, a stronger safety record could also help builders lower their insurance costs, institute representatives told The Daily Wire.

Another company showcased a way to quickly deploy homes to communities recovering from natural disasters or areas where major construction projects, such as data centers, have created a shortage of housing for workers. Uplift, founded by Charlie Nitschelm and Trevor O’Leary, builds sixty-square-foot homes ready to be deployed. They were designed with unique pockets that allow them to be picked up by a standard 5,000-lb forklift. Four of Uplift’s homes fit on the back of a flatbed. 

“Uplift was designed to really implement all of the steps of a mobile home,” Nitschelm told The Daily Wire. “All of the features we have engineered into this are to make it so no crew of any kind is required not only to deploy this home but to activate it as a dignified place to live.”

A rooftop Starlink terminal provides internet connectivity, while self-leveling legs allow the home to adjust to uneven ground. According to Nitschelm, setting up the home requires no plumber. Nitschelm said Uplift could help ease America’s affordability crisis by housing the workers needed to build more homes.

“It could be for workforce housing,” he said. “People who are trying to go out and build in rural areas. There is zero housing for them, so it actually slows down our ability to build in America.”

For Turner, companies like Uplift and Cavco are why the private sector is central to his housing game plan. They remove barriers to building, giving companies room to innovate, and find cheaper, faster ways to put roofs over Americans’ heads.

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