Just a year ago, many of the homes along Olive and Juniper streets were ready for bulldozing. Now contractors are putting the finishing touches on these homes for Robertson Hill families to take pride in. Located in a historic neighborhood just east of IH-35, these homes originally seemed impossible to renovate due to the severity of dilapidation. Together with the Neighborhood Housing & Community Development Department, the Robertson Hill Neighborhood Association, the City Landmark Commission, and Camilo Garcia’s team of contractors, h+uo designed and oversaw construction, saving all eight of these homes.

Since the Robertson Hill neighborhood is historically an African American community, the team wanted to maintain the historic integrity of the homes through renovation rather than tearing down and completely building new homes. This renovation speaks to the neighborhood’s desire to create and maintain a vital historic district.

With the strong position of the Robertson Hill neighborhood and NHCD’s acknowledgement of the neighborhood desires, this incredible team is in the process of turning this community’s vision into a reality.

h+uo is a big fan of Heritage Restorations. This company locates, dismantles and inventories, restores and re-erects historic timber frame buildings from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries including barns, houses, hand-hewn log cabins and mills. These time-tested, hand-crafted structures are finished with modern space-planning, energy-efficient systems and more technically advanced materials to make beautiful and unique homes, guest houses, commercial spaces and modern barns. We have been fortunate enough to be a part of the design process on many of their projects including the recently completed River Hill Ranch House.

h+uo Partner Randall Owen worked alongside Heritage Restorations Design/Project Manager Greg Godsey to repurpose this historic barn. After nearly two years of working within the limitations and around the inherent challenges of transforming a venerable structure into a modern home, the resurrection of the River Hill Ranch Home is finally complete. Owen and Godsey are currently collaborating to convert three other barns around Texas to be completed this year. To learn more about the amazing work Heritage Restorations is doing, visit their website.

After over three years of development and construction, the HausBar Farm is finally close to completion! Previous Eastside Café owners Dorsey Barger and Susan Hausmann, love growing their own foods and are very passionate about making their urban farm 100% organic and sustainably operated. With the design help of h+uo Senior Partner, Tom Hatch, and Architect, Kelly Stephenson, the property has transformed from a blight space into a beautiful self-sustaining estate.

Meticulously designed, the HausBar Farm includes a huge outdoor kitchen, a gorgeous wraparound porch to view the garden, and a layout that strategically positions the farm in the front yard. Along with producing crops and livestock, HausBar Farm is a beautiful bed & breakfast, open for tours while educating visitors about their sustainability systems.

The farm includes:
-Fruits and vegetables
-Chickens and ducks
-Rabbits
-Two miniature donkeys
-Tilapia filled fish tank
-Agua/hydroponic system

About Urban Farming
Urban farms are properties ranging between one and five acres. Landowners raise produce as well as chickens that are kept in enclosures at least 50 feet away from neighboring homes.

The current East Austin urban farm movement began in the early 1990s, and continues to grow.

Tom Hatch speaking to SABIT business leaders

Business leaders of the 2012 SABIT Energy Efficiency and Renewables in Construction program made a special visit to Austin to see the new M-Station late last year. The goal of their visit was to promote the application of energy efficient principles and technologies in the construction industry in their home countries. The visit included a Q& A session with our Senior Partner, Tom Hatch, and a tour of the M-Station community.

With the help of a translator, the SABIT group inquired about the logistics and funding of the project. They were fascinated by the concept of a “nonprofit”– an organization model that is non-existent in their home countries. The leaders were very excited and enthusiastic about the project.

About M Station
M Station, a Foundation Communities Project, is a 150-unit affordable apartment community for working families in east Austin. This oblong 8.5 acre piece of land is long and narrow as it is located between a creek on the east and the Capital Metro light rail on the west. A green-built model of eco-friendly, transit-oriented development and affordable housing, M Station includes a childcare center, a Community Learning center with after-school programs and a computer lab open to the neighborhood. Residents also benefit from easy access to the MetroRail transit station, a great neighborhood school just a few blocks away, and the Children’s Museum Workshop and the Sustainable Food Center Kitchen and Gardens being built across the street. M Station is the first affordable multifamily community located in the MLK transit-oriented district (TOD), the first LEED for Homes multifamily project in Austin, and the first multifamily LEED for Homes Platinum community in Texas.

About SABIT Program
The SABIT Program facilitates numerous professional relationships between economic decision-makers from both the U.S. and Eurasia. SABIT is a division of the Department of Commerce Market Access and Compliance unit. To learn more about their organization, click here.