D.R. Horton Strives To Build Both Homes and Communities
D.R. Horton has created an economic impact of more than $100 million in the Northeast Tennessee region since its arrival in Johnson City.
Sponsored by: D.R. Horton
Home sweet home has a dual meaning for D.R. Horton in Johnson City, Tennessee. The first one is obvious. After all, the company has been the largest homebuilder by volume in the U.S. since 2002 and has closed on more than 1 million homes over its 46-year history.
In addition to building the homes, however, D.R. Horton also wants to make sure each of its 118 markets feels like home by connecting with the local community through workforce development and charitable programs. That has been the case in Johnson City ever since the company set up shop here four years ago.
“We’re basically a local builder backed by a Fortune 200 company,” says Barak Saltzman, manager for D.R. Horton’s Northeast Tennessee region. “We are very decentralized. We make all our decisions locally.”
When it comes to the actual building of homes, the numbers tell much of the story. D.R. Horton has created an economic impact of more than $100 million in the Northeast Tennessee region since its arrival in Johnson City and entered 2024 with more than 1,000 lots under contract. In addition, the company supports more than 2,000 jobs throughout the region.
But D.R. Horton’s impact goes far beyond walls and ceilings. The company is invested in workforce development in the region, partnering with the Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) on its Building Construction Technology program and working with Northeast State Community College on its Skilled Trades program.
In the end, it is the people within the homes who create a community. And D.R. Horton makes an impact there as well by contributing to a variety of programs designed to improve individual lives.
For example, the company sponsored the TCAT team in the Appalachia Service Project’s “Race to Build” event at Bristol Motor Speedway, in which college students compete to build new homes from the ground up. The finished products are then donated to low-income families whose current homes are beyond repair.
“We want to be a great community partner to Johnson City,” Saltzman says. “And we try to do that by giving back whenever we can.”
