From Bake Me Happy to Service! Relief, Letha Pugh is known for her work in the local food industry. But the self-described entrepreneur—a registered nurse who started her career in home healthcare—has a hand in more than the food world. Recently, she’s focused on housing.
Pugh purchased her first rental units in 2023. Now, she’s interested in building housing that’s affordable for people who work in restaurants and similar roles. Her first modular home build in Driving Park is set to start leasing in July.
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Pugh recently spoke with Columbus Monthly about adding the role of landlord and developer into her portfolio and her vision for housing in the Columbus region. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
What led you to take the leap into real estate? I have been trying to figure out: What do I love? And while I do love entrepreneurship, because that’s such a wide lens, I see a lot of opportunities and options for myself. I love the hospitality industry, but since the pandemic, I have been really in tune to [the fact that it’s] an industry where people really struggle financially.
The hospitality industry opened my eyes to some of the inequities. And one of those areas was housing. Across the city, there are a number of folks in the industry who probably really can only afford $800 to $1,200 a month [for housing].
That’s not limited to hospitality, but because that’s the industry I’m in right now, that is where I decided to put some energy into researching what’s out there.
I think being able to provide housing at a cost people can afford means I have to work with public funds to subsidize the cost. The Affordable Housing Trust for Columbus and Franklin County helped me work through what that process looks like.
I’ve just found that I love it. I think I’ve always loved construction. I just hadn’t been exposed to it.
I didn’t dive into like, ‘Oh, I’m going to build a 20-unit apartment.’ I said, ‘OK, I’m going to start with a duplex. And I’m going to learn the process.’ I’m using a modular product. I think that makes the process a little bit easier for me.
Can you explain what modular housing is? There’s a couple of different versions. Basically, they build [the components] in a warehouse. So they’ll build the bathroom, living room, the bedrooms, and they ship it to me in four pieces. And then those four pieces are set into a foundation that we prepared for them and anchored into place. It’s not a trailer. It’s not mobile.
Another type of modular product that I’m looking at for the future, they will ship your walls to you framed out, and then [it’s] put together like a puzzle.
It doesn’t cut costs, it does cut time. Unfortunately, when ICE came through, a lot of folks lost a lot of their construction workforce, so their projects have really stalled. And I didn’t really have that issue because mine is being built in a warehouse outside of Dayton.
Tell us about your prior experience in real estate? I would say I started in 2023. I think I invested in two [flips], but I am not really into market rate. I felt like I wanted my investment to be a little more community. When I talk to people about, ‘Hey, I’m investing in this real estate project,’ I do want people to feel like it’s accessible to them.
My first three purchases were multifamily apartments. And I rarely have vacancies. I do get a sense of satisfaction, connecting with folks who this [home] is in their price point, they’re excited about it.
I think as I learn more about the financial piece, and then also plugging in public and private funds to make a project work, there is something a little bit exhilarating in it for me. Chasing and finding dollars that help bring the cost of a project down, I do enjoy that.
I think there are some good landlords out here, and the good ones, they really do try to treat their tenants like a decent family member. It’s built on trust. And so if you get folks who are honest with you and you see them working hard and they’re trying to make ends meet, you’re more than willing to give them some grace because sometimes you’re going to need some grace.
What comes next? I’m not really looking to own 100 doors or 200 doors. I am looking to make some impactful projects. Part of the work [is] around [what I call] community-based scaling. It’s encompassing all parts of economic development: jobs, housing, treating people as humans and wraparound services. I see it through that lens.
Housing development resources
Affordable Housing Trust for Columbus & Franklin County Emerging Developers Program
Central Ohio Community Improvement Corporation
City of Columbus Land Bank Program
Enterprise Community Partners
Freedom Equity
Urban Land Institute
A version of this article appeared in the June 2026 issue of Columbus Monthly. Subscribe here.
This article originally appeared on Columbus Monthly: Entrepreneur Letha Pugh Embraces Modular Housing
Reporting by Linda Lee Baird, Columbus Monthly / Columbus Monthly
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Linda Lee Baird, Columbus Monthly | USA TODAY Network
