Industry ATX Breaks Ground on Austin Affordable Project

Industry SOMA. Image courtesy of Industry ATX

Industry ATX has commenced construction on a fully affordable community dubbed Industry SOMA in Austin. Architecture firm Mark Odom Studios, along with Civilitude Planning & Engineering as civil engineer and Legacy DCS as general contractor, are part of the development team that will create 23 attached townhomes.

The property will be in compliance with Austin’s S.M.A.R.T. housing standards and will serve households earning up to 80 percent of the Median Family Income.

Industry SOMA is slated to be completed by the fall of 2025 and will aim to receive Austin Energy Green Building Certification. The property will encompass garden-style townhomes with three- and four-bedroom floorplans, ranging between 1,042 and 1,208 square feet. The project includes communal gathering areas and individualized parking. In-unit amenities will consist of vaulted ceilings, quartz countertops, wood composite flooring, fenced backyards and back patios.

Community-focused townhome property

The nearly 1-acre site is located at 1903 Keilbar Lane in southwest Austin, close to numerous entertainment venues, dining options and retail spaces. Green areas such as William H. Russel Karst Preserve, Stephenson Nature and Preserve Outdoor Education Center and Dittmar Recreation Center, are within a 3-mile radius. Health-care facilities Bluebonnet Medical Rehabilitation Hospital and Ally Medical Emergency Room are 1 mile away.

Founding Principal of Mark Odom Studio, Mark Odom, said in prepared remarks that the project focuses on  community and outdoor living, responding to an underserved part of the city’s workforce housing needs. Austin’s population expanded by more than 28 percent during the last decade, bolstering housing demand. The Texas capital moved beyond the recovery phase and entered expansion mode, with the area’s unemployment rate reaching pre-pandemic levels in April, a recent Yardi Matrix report shows.