PROFILE Calvin LaMont (left) and Chris LaMont N O T E S S POT L I GHT ALUMNI EVENTS All alumni, parents and friends are welcome at Lehigh events. Find the complete calendar online anytime at mylehigh. lehigh.edu/events. DINNERS FOR 12 Ongoing, Nationwide Gather around the table with other Lehigh people to widen your network of business connections, potential partners, and best of all—new friends. Find one near you at alumni.lehigh.edu/events. MOUNTAIN TALKS Online Join us as Lehigh faculty and alumni share their expertise on a variety of topics, from the James Webb Space Telescope to fnancial management during volatile periods, in live video sessions. Missed the most recent video? Want to catch up on past sessions? View them all at alumni.lehigh.edu/ mountain-talks. REUNION June 8-11, 2023 Campus Save the date! Mark your calendars and return to South Mountain to meet and mingle with more than 1,000 fellow alumni. For more information, visit alum.lu/reunion. build. After clients choose whether they want to buy and remodel or build their dream home, Chris and Calvin work together to complete the project. Season one featured five episodes, which according to Calvin recordedmore than3.5million live viewers andmillionsmore through reruns and streaming. They said there is talk of a second season or other programming. “We’re HGTV family now,” Chris said. The brothers credit their football coaches at Lehigh, Pete Lembo and the late Andy Coen, with a Building Hope HGTV stars Chris and Calvin LaMont are working to make entry-level housing more affordable With approximately $4,000 between them after selling one of their vehicles, twin brothers Chris and Calvin LaMont arrived in Dallas in 2007 to embark on their dream of working in real estate after studying supply chain and business information systems, respectively, at Lehigh. Two months later, they said that balance had dwindled to zero. But the former Lehigh football players persevered, starting a commercial janitorial business and pivoting to other ventures, eventually restoring houses that had water and fire damage. They never lost sight of their dreamandbecamehosts of anewHGTVshow, “Buy It or Build It,” and owners of a company they founded, Volume Income Properties (VIP). “Two guys on a truck, Calvin and I went to houses and we cleaned carpets,” Calvin said. “But we always knew we wanted to do real estate from the beginning, and we never lost that goal.” An ex-television executive saw the LaMont brothers’ work with VIP and believed they needed a show. He connected the brothers with production companies, and they were told “no” four times. The fifth time, in October 2020, was the charm. “Buy It or Build It” premiered May 18, 2022, with Chris showcasing old homes with the potential to satisfy their clients’ wish lists and Calvin pitching a new mantra that they say has served themwell throughout life, but especially as they waited for their big break in television: “Focus on what you can control.” While the brothers are known for their HGTV show, they are also passionate about the work they do through VIP. “We’re bringing entry-level and workforce housing to America,” Chris said. Not only are they trying to alleviate the lack of supply in affordable housing, they’re creating in-field development for subdivisions in cities and working with officials in locations such as Dallas, St. Louis and Augusta, Georgia to revive neighborhoods. “We’re actually taking neighborhoods that have been neglected, and we’re bringing the spark back to them with innovative housing,” Chris said. The homes they build have three to four bedrooms, two to three bathrooms and range from1,600 to 2,000 square feet. They try to price the homes at under $275,000. Their goal is to sell and lease 5,000 lots over the next 10 years. The LaMont brothers say they hope to showpeople that buying ahome is achievable. “We can help more people so they won’t be scared,” Chris said. “If they see us doing it, Calvin and I, [maybe they] say, ‘They look like us, and you know what? Maybe I can go get a house.’ And that's the goal.” —Stephen Gross FA L L 2 0 2 2 | 3 9
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