Ben Goehner, 27, moved to Mansfield, Ohio a year ago to revitalize rural housing through Western Dominion Land, his vertically integrated development company. The model keeps costs down by controlling the entire supply chain, from lumber production to panel manufacturing to land development and home construction. Goehner operates a factory in Mansfield set to produce structured panels in early 2027. He claims his process cuts single-family home construction to 40 days, compared to the current national average of 8.8 months.
Western Dominion has built about 500 housing units across Ohio starting at $200,000. In Mansfield, where median listing prices sit at $229,000, Goehner reports that homes priced at $215,000 sold instantly while those at $260,000 sat for months. He targets "attainable housing"—homes below regional median pricing but without income restrictions.
Goehner identifies a structural gap in rural development. Only 8% of construction occurs in rural areas despite 20% of the population living there. Rural home prices have surged more than 70% from November 2019 to November 2025, compared to 30% increases in metro counties, according to Realtor.com analysis. Infrastructure costs in rural areas run $25,000 to $50,000 per lot before construction begins. After 2008, annual rural home construction dropped from 220,000 units to 60,000, he says, as smaller builders disappeared and larger developers avoided the red tape.
Goehner points to Holiday City, near the Ohio-Indiana-Michigan border, as an example. The town has 48 residents but three major employers—Chase Brass & Copper Co., 20/20 Custom Molded Products, and a Menards Distribution Center—that draw 1,500 out-of-state commuters. He proposes building 300 homes there to house workers now commuting one to two hours daily.
"The government needs to stop spending thousands of dollars a month per unit to subsidize rents when they could simply spend a little bit upfront to make it viable to build at a reasonable price point again," Goehner says. He seeks Ohio's support to offset infrastructure costs in exchange for attainable pricing.