Lennar building 100 tiny homes in Converse

Not everything is bigger in Texas.

Lennar Homes is building its first tiny-home development in a town outside of San Antonio.

The Miami-based firm, led by executive chairman Stuart Miller, will deliver 100 homes, ranging from 350 to 660 square feet, to a neighborhood near Converse, roughly 15 miles northeast of downtown San Antonio, the San Antonio Report reported. 

The project, dubbed Elm Trails, will rise in the Spring Meadows subdivision, with each home sitting on a 20-foot wide lot, giving enough room for a small backyard. Prices will range from roughly $160,000 to $170,000, and construction for the first 30 homes has begun. 

Elm Trails will offer two floor plans. The Cooley model, totalling 350 square feet, calls for one bedroom and one bathroom, with a built-in ladder to access a loft. The Henley is 660 square feet with one bedroom and two bathrooms. It will have a narrow set of stairs leading to a living space and bedroom. 

Lennar embarked on the development to ease affordability and housing shortage concerns, while evading rising construction costs. More tiny-home communities could follow around San Antonio, but zoning restrictions are often a challenge with these kinds of projects.

“As more and more municipalities address affordability, we believe it will be important that traditional zoning requirements are updated to reflect new types of housing,” Brian Barron, president of Lennar’s San Antonio division, told the outlet.

Last year, San Antonio’s city council approved 191 amendments to the city’s unified development code, including changes to make permitting easier for accessory dwelling units. 

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A bill recently passed by the Texas Senate, which would eliminate most zoning with lot size requirements among cities in counties with a population of 300,000 or more, could also open up more tiny-home projects. The bill has been passed onto the Texas House, and if approved, the city would have to adopt the policy before it takes effect. 

—Quinn Donoghue