A Southern California town will become home to the country’s first community of 3-D printed homes.
Rancho Mirage, near Palm Springs, was selected by developer Palari for the project, which should be completed by next Spring, they say.
The community will initially include 15 eco-friendly homes made from 3-D printed panels by Mighty Buildings.
Each home will be 1,450 square feet with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, sitting on a 10,000-square-foot property with a swimming pool and deck, according to the Los Angeles Times, for $595,000.
Pre-selling started in late February and sold out within days. Palari told the Times most buyers were tech-savvy millennials who valued sustainability. There are sustainable features built into the homes like water filtration and lighting.
They also reported that two buyers paid for their homes with Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency.
The 3-D panels made by Mighty Buildings appear like stone material, according to the company. The Oakland-based company started in 2017.
The panels to be used for the homes are printed by robots out of a proprietary material that hardens when exposed to UV light. They say it makes it harder and lighter than concrete, with a longevity of more than 70 years.
Palari claims they can build the 15-home community in a matter of months, instead of the traditional years for a project like this because of the 3-D printed materials.
It’s too early to judge if 3-D printed building materials will replace traditional wood-framed structures. However, builders around the country have been reporting construction slowdowns or budget increases because of a huge decline in available lumber.