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Phoenix Building Solutions, a tiny home manufacturer based in Greenville, marked a significant milestone on Friday, Mar. 21, celebrating the completion of its 100th home. Owners Eric and Felicia Lutz hosted a catered lunchtime event for their staff in recognition of the achievement.

“Today we’re celebrating the completion of our 100th home,” Eric Lutz said. “We started out about 18 months ago with house number one and now we’ve completed house number 100. 

“So, contrary to what most places I think would do where they’d build their biggest and best and model (for the 100th home), we designed and built our tiniest. So it’s almost like a little studio apartment. Felicia designed it and put everything in there so we’re going to be opening that up and letting everybody walk through it. We have food catered in and we’re just feeding the team. It’s a celebration of them, what they’ve done, where a lot of them have come from.”

For HR Manager Melonie Branch, the occasion was deeply personal.

“… you know, this is our 100th house and I get so emotional,” Branch said. “I have been here from number one till now and we have transformed the whole process. It has been wonderful to see.”

The manufacturer, which specializes in custom-built tiny homes as well as park model homes, has seen growing demand as more individuals and families seek downsized living options. Among those visiting Phoenix Building Solutions for the event were Terri and Keith Gilmore of Auburn, who are planning to make a tiny home their permanent residence.

“We are basically trying to look for an entire package of a tiny home that we’ll live in full time,” Terri Gilmore said. “We live in an RV now and we want something more secure and a little more quality built than an RV.”

Her husband, Keith, echoed the sentiment, emphasizing financial freedom and simplicity.

“We’re financially independent now, and we want to keep it that way,” Keith said. “We don’t need anything big. It’s just us and this fits the bill perfectly. It’s a house. It’s as big a house as we need. Real easy to keep up and this will be our home from now on.”