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Lorianne Willett<\/p>\n
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KUT News<\/p>\n
Sean Garretson said he hopes this concept of car-free living is the start of something new in Austin. <\/p>\n
Garretson said 40 units in the Ivory are reserved for families earning up to 70% of the median family income. For a two-person household, that is $75,250, according to city data<\/a>. <\/p>\n The Ivory is also Austin’s first condo development to forgo onsite parking after the city nixed those requirements<\/a> in 2023. The project is part of a larger effort by the Chestnut Neighborhood Revitalization Corporation to create affordable housing and support local businesses with walkability in mind, Garretson said. <\/p>\n Transportation savings<\/p>\n Garretson said the carless community could help residents save thousands of dollars each year on gas, car insurance and maintenance costs. Instead, the property has easy access to e-bikes, two shared e-vehicles and a covered CapMetro bus stop.<\/p>\n Garretson expects some residents to still have a car, and he said street parking will be an option.<\/p>\n David Carroll, who is head of the Chestnut Neighborhood Planning Contact Team, said parking was a concern for some residents but it’s something they are used to.<\/p>\n Lorianne Willett<\/p>\n \/<\/p>\n KUT News<\/p>\n The Ivory, Austin\u2019s first carless residential building, is five stories high and has 53 units for sale, 40 of which are considered affordable. <\/p>\n \u201cOur neighborhood is also a little bit different that it was developed in the first half of the 20th century, and a consequence of that \u2013 and it not being an affluent area of town at that time \u2013 many of the homes were developed without driveways or garages,” Carroll said. <\/p>\n Eventually though, Garretson expects future residents to adapt and ditch their cars.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you didn\u2019t have that [car] and had options for mobility, you could easily get around in Austin,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n ‘Resetting the precedent’<\/p>\n The Ivory is not the first project of its kind in the country. In Tempe, Arizona, developers opened Culdesac Tempe, a 17-acre, car-free community<\/a>, in 2023. Today, the development is home to almost 400 residents and more than 20 businesses.<\/p>\n Rob Maloney with Culdesac said eliminating parking allowed them to build more courtyards, plazas, and space for local businesses.<\/p>\n Photo courtesy of Culdesac<\/p>\n Culdesac Tempe opened in 2023 offering a car-free neighborhood with places to live, eat and play. The area is home to 400 residents and more than a dozen local businesses. <\/p>\n \u201cCuldesac Tempe has 55% landscaped open space, is no higher than three stories tall, and has the same density as a midrise apartment complex, all because we don\u2019t need residential surface parking,\u201d Maloney said.<\/p>\n He hopes to inspire other cities and developers to build with less parking and more entrepreneurship and connection in mind.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re resetting the precedent for development in the U.S.,\u201d Maloney said.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1785406870_619_.jpeg\"\/)
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