GEORGETOWN, Texas — Residents of Georgetown can soon expect to see 3D-printed homes in the community of Wolf Ranch by Hillwood Communities.
One of the country's top homebuilders, Lennar, is collaborating with ICON, a construction technology company, to build the largest community of 3D-printed homes.
"We are very pleased to partner with ICON and BIG in building a first-of-its-kind, printed home community that combines innovative designs with sustainable features at an affordable price," said Stuart Miller, executive chairman of Lennar. "Given the housing shortage that persists across the country, it has never been more important to innovate in order to find new methods of construction that will enable greater design flexibility and greater production at affordable prices."
Prospective residents can expect the community to include at least 100 technologically advanced homes equipped with innovative robotics, software and advanced materials that are environmentally sustainable as well as architecturally attractive.
On Tuesday, KVUE crews were on scene as they were putting up the walls on the homes.
"This is the future, this is a technology of scale, this one house right here is a compelling part of the story," said Dmitri Julius with ICON.
The newly printed homes are intended to be energy efficient and emphasize the possibilities of digital construction. Each house will be constructed using ICON's Vulcan robotic construction system to produce less waste.
"For the first time in the history of the world, what we're witnessing here is a fleet of robots building an entire community of homes. And not just any homes, homes that are better in every way… better design, higher strength, higher energy performance and comfort, and increased resiliency," said Jason Ballard, co-founder and CEO of ICON. "In the future, I believe robots and drones will build entire neighborhoods, towns and cities, and we'll look back at Lennar's Wolf Ranch community as the place where robotic construction at scale began. We still have a long way to go, but I believe this marks a very exciting and hopeful turn in the way we address housing issues in the world."
The community will offer eight different floor plans, ranging from three to four bedrooms and two to three bathrooms. Homes will be powered by rooftop solar panels, include a Ring Video Doorbell Pro, Schlage Encode Smart WiFi deadbolt, a Honeywell Home T6 Pro WiFi smart thermostat and a Wolf Ranch security package.
Prices are expected to start from the mid-$400,000s.
"Just got started recently, and expect to have our first homes ready for the summer of 2023," said Austin Division President for Lennar Charlie Coleman.
"We are excited to welcome Lennar and ICON's cutting-edge home construction technology to Georgetown," Georgetown Mayor Josh Schroeder said. "The Georgetown community prides itself on honoring our past and innovating for our future, and we are eager to see the future being built right here."
Interested homebuyers can join the interest list by clicking here.
Boomtown is KVUE's series covering the explosive growth in Central Texas. For more Boomtown stories, head to KVUE.com/Boomtown.
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