Big News 'Bout Small Houses
500 tiny homes with big amenities coming to new Austin-area communities
Do you feel like Austin home prices are out of control and you will never be able to afford a place to call your own? Help may come in the form of two big developments for tiny homes.
Work is currently underway on one tiny-home community in South Austin and another in Kyle. Together, they will have space for close to 500 tiny homes.
The Austin project, Constellation ATX, will feature almost 100 lots for tiny homes. It’s scheduled to open this spring on Old Manchaca Road south of West Slaughter Lane. Joe Davis, sales director at Austin-based Tiny Dwelling Co. and a broker at One Way Realty, will start taking reservations for Constellation lots in late January; the grand opening is set for March 1.
The Kyle project, tentatively called Stage Coach, will be near Center Street, the main road in the Hays County suburb. The community will have room for nearly 400 tiny homes, according to Davis. The grand opening is slated for late this spring or early this summer.
Tiny Dwelling is “giving people the opportunity to own a home without all the expenses that come with owning the land. We’re changing the way people live here in Texas. Living tiny is a big deal,” Davis tells CultureMap.
Home prices will range from $55,000 to $140,000 each, he says. By comparison, the median price of a single-family home in November was $341,000 in Travis County and $260,000 in Hays County, according to the Austin Board of Realtors.
Each tiny home will measure less than 400 square feet — about the size of a typical studio apartment. Davis says an option will available for stackable tiny-home units.
Austin-based Kasita Inc. along with Pueblo, Colorado-based Sprout Tiny Homes Inc. are building the fully furnished homes for both communities, Davis says.
Despite the small size of the homes, each community won’t skimp on amenities, including:
- Landscaped areas featuring picnic tables, fire pits, and natural-gas grills
- Tiny homes designated for overnight rentals
- Gated access
- Swimming pool
- Clubhouse with WiFi access
- General laundry facility
- Storage units
- Bicycle racks
- On-site car-sharing services
- On-site recycling
- Native plants
- Renewable energy
- Rainwater capturing systems
Davis says Constellation ATX, the Austin community, will offer Google Fiber hookups, while dog parks and car-charging stations are possibilities for both communities.