Austin breaks ground on first carless affordable housing project

AUSTIN, Texas — The city of Austin celebrated the groundbreaking of its first carless community Saturday morning, an affordable condominium in East Austin that will be powered completely by solar energy.

The Ivory condominiums will be named after Scottie Ivory, a longtime advocate for equal opportunity in East Austin. In an effort to be even more affordable and sustainable, this community won’t have parking lots or garages, but will instead eliminate the need for car payments and gas by providing residents with electric bikes instead.

Jame Houston Jr.’s family has lived in this East Austin home for three generations. He says it’s just not the same neighborhood anymore.

“The neighborhood changed. They did a lot of new remodels, you know, a lot of building new houses and stuff.” Houston said. “People just moved in, you know, it came from, you know, just different parts of the states and different parts of the world, and they’re just buying in.”

Gentrification has been a longstanding concern in East Austin.

“It’s hard for us to, you know, to try to keep, you know, making that payment,” Houston said.

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In fact, nearly everyone CBS Austin tried to speak to for this story was from out of town, staying in remodeled AirBNBs.

“They knew that one day this property would be the most valuable property in the city and let you pay rent for 27 years,” District One Austin city councilmember Natasha Harper-Madison said. “And didn’t fix nothing.”

But the Chestnut Neighborhood Revitalization Corporation is trying to fight back with the groundbreaking of The Ivory condominiums, a new affordable housing project on Chicon Street between 12th and 13th. 40 of its 53 units will be for low-income families.

“Austin right now, I and the city council, are dedicated to affordability first,” Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said. “Affordability first.”

Not only will the community be entirely solar-powered, but it will also be completely carless. Residents won’t need a vehicle but instead will be provided an electric bike. And there will be two communal electric vehicles for when public transportation won’t work.

“They get to go where they make their money, it’s easy for them to jump on the bus, walk, whatever…” Harper-Madison said.

Harper-Madison lives within walking distance of The Ivory and hopes this kind of community becomes a blueprint for the future.

“This is the kind of template for the rest of the city, rest of the nation,” Harper-Madison said. “These people don’t need parking, in which case, if they don’t need parking, it made it more affordable.”

And while James isn’t so sure about the carless situation, if it keeps people in East Austin, he’s in support of his new neighbors.

“If they’re building it and people can live, I think it’s a good arrangement. I think it would be a good place to live,” Houston said.

This project is possible because of the Affordability Housing Unlocked Ordinance Madison helped get passed in 2019, which modified certain development restrictions.

The Ivory’s website says tenants are expected to move in by the Summer of 2025.