Hundreds of New Manufactured and Modular Homes to be Sited Near Tesla Gigafactory in Texas

According to an online report by Austonia, manufactured and modular homes developer Roberts Communities says it is bringing some much-needed affordable housing to Austin,Texas, with plans to build near the new Tesla Gigafactory and Travis County Exposition Center.

As two alternatives to traditional housing, manufactured homes are built off-site and delivered in one piece, whereas modular homes are also built in a factory and assembled on-site piece-by-piece. The alternatives have been gaining traction in recent years due to their speed, eco-friendliness, and relative affordability. Elon Musk even reportedly lives in a type of manufactured/modular home in nearby Boca Chica, Texas.

Roberts Communities, the Scottsdale-based developer, will expand upon two amenity-rich communities: Oak Ranch, originally an abandoned mobile home lot that they bought and refurbished in 2011, and Loma Vista, purchased in 2015.

Oak Ranch, an 11-minute drive from Tesla’s Gigafactory, is getting a 565-lot expansion that will bring the community to 1050 total homes. According to Roberts Communities’ President of Sales and Marketing Ernesto Iglesias, 100 have already been sold and 40 are pending.

Loma Linda has already been expanded twice. First, after Roberts communities bought the land, jumping the home count from 460 t0 540, then in 2019, when they added another 120. The next expansion will add 128 new lots, bringing the total to 860 homes.

The Scottsdale-based developer has multiple communities around the city: Chateau at Onion Creek, Loma Vista, The Reserve, and Oak Ranch. The developers also built Lakeside Crossing in Kyle.

The homes will be built by home builder Clayton Homes and promise lower costs of living in nine communities around Texas, Arizona, and Colorado, as housing prices spike. In Roberts Communities, residents own the homes themselves and lease the land they sit on, starting at $70,000 for a single-wide lot and $90,000 for a double-wide.

 Image: Lars Plougmann