One may think that a small community like Callaway would be immune to the housing shortage that seems to be impacting the majority of the country. You would be wrong.

The lack of quality affordable housing is no respecter of population numbers, metro or rural. Here in Callaway, the need for housing has been apparent for some time, and several local residents and businessmen are doing what they can to alleviate that.

On the east edge of Callaway sit a handful of homes that have been built in the past few years on property developed by Justin Mason. Now, Mason and TJ Elliott are working together to develop an adjacent piece of property and construct more homes.

The land being developed is along what is referred to locally as the “dump road” on the north side of the River Road. The plan is to construct six homes on the property. “We are still waiting on the engineering firm to get the plotting done, so we can see lot sizes and where the road has to sit,” explained Elliott.

Elliott said they are shooting for 1,100-1,500-squarefoot homes, but will have to wait until the plotting is done to see if the land will accommodate six houses that size. “We can do slab upgrade, crawl space, or basement,” he explained. “Obviously, basements add money. We are just trying to get some workforce affordable housing.”

There is no grant money helping fund the development project - Mason and Elliott are funding it entirely. Though both men have their own businesses, the two have worked together on numerous other local projects. Elliott and his wife own M and T Rentals, a company that provides rental homes throughout

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