Chestnut Commons

Situated in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood in Austin, Texas, Chestnut Commons is a transit-oriented infill community featuring 32 cottage-style residences and 32 for-sale flats above garages. This housing typology–smaller-than-average homes arranged to maximize density–has the advantage of making homeownership more affordable, with initial sales prices ranging from $149,000 to $260,000. The developers of Chestnut Commons–locally based Momark Development LLC, and Benchmark Land Development–donate half of the project’s profits (beyond an initial 20 percent gross profit threshold) to the nonprofit Austin Community Foundation, resulting in a total contribution of over $1.1 million toward community development in the city.