Icon Technology is bringing a high-tech twist to its planned residential development in East Austin.Â
The local construction company plans to build a dozen 3D-printed homes as part of an urban infill project within the 700-acre Mueller master-planned community near downtown, the Austin Business Journal reported. Construction will start this year in Mueller’s southeast section on Tom Miller Street, marking Icon’s first for-sale project in the city since 2021.
The homes will range from 650 to 2,400 square feet with one- to three-bedroom floor plans, with prices ranging from the mid-$300,000s to $1.2 million. Of the 12 homes planned, three have already been pre-sold.
Icon will employ its 3D-printed technology to construct the first floors, while the upper levels will be built using traditional methods. Michael Hsu Office of Architecture is the Austin-based designer.Â
The company previously completed middle-market homes in Georgetown’s Wolf Ranch community and high-end homes in Wimberley. Icon has also built units for the chronically homeless in Austin’s Community First Village.
Icon’s construction process uses a proprietary cement-based material designed for durability and efficiency. The material allows for homes that can withstand winds up to 250 mph and resist fires for nearly three hours.Â
The company, led by co-founder and CEO Jason Ballard, is preparing to launch its Phoenix printing technology next year, which will be capable of constructing multistory buildings. The system is designed to print entire structures, including foundations and roofs, with a maximum height of 27 feet.
Icon secured $56 million in funding last month as part of an anticipated $75 million Series C round. Norwest Venture Partners and Tiger Global co-led the round, with several prior investors, including CAZ Investments, LENX, Moderne Ventures, Oakhouse Partners and Overmatch Ventures, participating.
Icon restructured its operations in January, cutting about a quarter of its workforce to focus on its Phoenix multistory printing system. The company’s 3D-printing process has already shown efficiency in Wolf Ranch, where it produced 2,000-square-foot homes in about two weeks — far faster than traditional methods.
Austin’s home-building market is active, with major projects like Infinity Square set to add 1,000 single-family homes and 1,400 apartments. Single-family permits surpassed 360,000 by October last year. However, the market faces challenges, including a slowdown in new home starts and a 17.5 percent drop in home prices since mid-2022, according to Redfin.
— Andrew TerrellÂ
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