Design and Construction Report staff writer
Austin Housing and the Austin Housing Finance Corporation celebrated the opening of The Ivory, the city’s first car-free condominium community, a mixed-use development designed to expand affordable homeownership while reducing transportation costs for residents.
Located at 1309 Chicon St. in East Austin’s District 1, the development was built in partnership with the Chestnut Neighborhood Revitalization Corporation, a nonprofit affordable housing organization. The project includes 53 condominium units and three commercial spaces. Forty of the homes are reserved for households earning at or below 70% of the area’s median family income, while 13 units will be sold at market rate.
“The Ivory reflects the city’s commitment to expanding innovative, affordable housing options,” Austin Housing Director Deletta Dean said. “Communities such as this help us reach our goals to meet the needs of Austinites by addressing both housing affordability and the rising cost of transportation.”
The all-electric development was designed to lower both housing and transportation expenses. Homes feature energy-efficient appliances, quartz countertops, in-unit washer and dryer hookups, and private or Juliet balconies. On-site solar panels are expected to generate nearly 90% of the building’s electricity needs, saving homeowners an estimated $100 per month on utility bills.
Austin Energy partnered on the project from its early design stages through completion, helping establish the city’s first eMobility Hub. The mobility center provides residents with access to an on-site CapMetro bus stop, a bike-share station and two electric car-share vehicles through a partnership with CapMetro and Quantum Mobility. Homebuyers also will receive mobility credits and transit passes to encourage car-free or car-light living.
The development is named in honor of Scottie Ivory, a longtime East Austin community advocate recognized for her decades of work promoting equity and opportunity.
“Scottie and her family are very proud to have such a prominent affordable and sustainable building named after her,” said Sean Garretson, president of the Chestnut Neighborhood Revitalization Corporation’s board of directors. “We all believe that she is deserving of such an accolade, given all of the tireless work she did for East Austin and its community members.”
The Ivory is the second phase of The Chicon development. Phase I, completed in 2018, includes 28 ownership units, 21 of which are reserved for households earning at or below 80% of the median family income.
The Austin Housing Finance Corporation acquired the property for both phases in 2012. The city’s Affordability Unlocked ordinance, approved in 2019, allowed the project to increase residential density and eliminate parking requirements in exchange for providing affordable housing for low- and moderate-income households.
Funding for The Ivory included a $4.4 million investment from the Austin Housing Finance Corporation, along with $86,345 in 2022 general obligation bond funding for pre-construction work. The project also received approximately $4.3 million through the city’s Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone program. Capital Impact Partners provided $425,000 in pre-development financing and a $14.3 million construction loan.
City officials said The Ivory demonstrates how affordable housing, clean energy and multimodal transportation can be combined to create sustainable homeownership opportunities in Austin.
