Chicago-based modular home company Kinexx Modular Construction is crowdfunding to raise cash for an expansion, and 20 professional athletes have already signed on to invest.

The NFL's Jameis Winston, Mark Ingram, Jaylon Johnson and Cam Jordan and the MLB's Edwin Jackson, along with 15 other pro athletes, have invested undisclosed sums in the campaign, but members of the public can participate at $500 with no institutional minimum, according to a release from Kinexx.

The modular builder specifically targets the scores of vacant urban lots that are already connected to utilities and city services but that "traditional scalable construction companies have passed on," according to the release.

"The problem is the lack of a system capable of building on narrow lots, tight alleys, zero staging space, and complex urban permitting – environments that traditional builders have long avoided," Kinexx CEO Scott Upshaw said in a statement. "We designed Kinexx to address these exact conditions."

Kinexx is operating in Chicago now, but the fundraise, which is taking place through a public regulation crowdfunding offering on the DealMaker platform, will expand the company into eight urban markets across the country, with an initial target of 25,000 vacant lots.

In cities such as Detroit, Baltimore, Cleveland, St. Louis and Columbus, Ohio, there are more than 250,000 vacant lots, a reminder of disinvestment, redlining and abandonment that has compounded over decades, Kinexx said in its release.

Modular construction has long been seen as a way to keep housing construction costs — and costs to consumers — low. As discussions around housing unaffordability spread nationally, modular has seen increasing adoption. Modular construction made up 5.1% of total U.S. construction in 2024 and is projected to grow 4.5% annually, according to the Modular Building Institute.