In the near future, people in Broward and Palm Beach County who need affordable, storm-resistant homes may find a new, advanced option in a nearby community.
The Texas-based Onx company has opened a factory in Pompano Beach to make parts for homes that can withstand Category 5 hurricanes and winds up to 175 mph, more than 30 years after Hurricane Andrew hit Miami-Dade County.
The company, based in New Carrolton, Texas, near Dallas, started operations in 2021 and opened a 150,000-square-foot factory in Pompano Beach to make roofing components and walls with hurricane-resistant windows mainly using robotics. The timing is relevant as forecasters are predicting a very active 2024 hurricane season. The 2024 hurricane season is expected to be extremely active.
Matthew Rocco, president of the South Florida Manufacturers Association, believes Onx's manufacturing process and storm-resistant components will significantly impact South Florida.
The opening of the factory is a major step for Pompano Beach as it aims to enhance its reputation for luxury living, entertainment, and innovation. Automated factories are central to the company's strategy to quickly produce and transport components to home sites for assembly.
Visitors to the Pompano Beach factory can witness an automated process for creating interior and exterior walls, roofing components, and steel trusses for homes.
Onx has already started building communities in the Homestead area and operates assembly plants in Florida City.
The company has two different assembly plants in Florida City: one for bathroom/kitchen pods and another for foundations.
One factory produces 20 bathroom/kitchen pods daily, while the other builds foundations.
The company states that it takes 6-8 trailers per home for just-in-time delivery.
Onx says it can build a home in 30 days, which is much faster than the average 8-12 months taken by subcontractors. This is because Onx homes are constructed as one system.
Maintaining command
“Right now we are working on 12 communities in Florida,” stated Melissa Pinto, who holds the position of vice president of marketing. “It includes both single-family homes and townhomes.”
A few have four bedrooms, while others feature five.
She mentioned that the company oversees all aspects of the site acquisition, development, production, installation, sales, and marketing. “We purchase the land and handle everything from start to finish.”
There are no individual sales. Onx homes are only available in the communities developed by Onx.
Prices are aligned with local “market prices,” officials say. The homes in the Homestead area are priced between $400,000 and $500,000, according to brochures.
Onx engages potential customers through digital marketing, Pinto explained. They can explore design options on the company website and select their preferred one.
In Florida, she stated, “we have 500 homes already constructed and almost 1,800 individuals residing in those homes.”
Pinto noted that the buyer demographics “vary depending on the location.” In Miami-Dade, there is a mixed-family living situation, with older parents living in five-bedroom homes with their children, a form of “multigenerational living.” There are also slightly smaller townhomes occupied by professionals in the tourism and medical industries, as well as individuals serving in the military.
In Fort Myers, retirees live in a golf-focused community, while near Orlando, “digital nomads” who dislike commuting into the city reside in a suburban community in Lake County. “We are seeing a lot of young families moving to the suburban area from the city,” Pinto said.
Third-year goals
Established in 2021, the privately-owned Onx, which is funded by friends, family, and high-end investors from Silicon Valley and Toronto, started after its founders assessed the U.S. housing market and identified an opportunity in the soaring costs that have puzzled potential buyers.
“We came from Dubai,” Ravi Bhat, the chief operating officer, mentioned in a phone interview. “During the COVID period, we were primarily examining the housing market in the United States and considering what we could do about it.”
He noted that the founders selected the Miami area and Austin, Texas, as starting points due to their status as the most challenging markets in the U.S. There were two factors: The stringent building codes in both areas and the states’ susceptibility to weather conditions such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and relentless heat.
Bhat observed that Homestead was the most affected area when Hurricane Andrew devastated south Miami-Dade in 1992, destroying thousands of homes and businesses and triggering a population shift into Broward County and other areas northward.
The company claims that its homes can endure Category 5 hurricane winds of up to 175 mph. Bhat and Pinto stated that the assertion is based on artificial-intelligence simulations conducted by engineers in both Dubai and the United States.
Bhat said his plan is to test an entire home in a wind tunnel.
He also mentioned plans to expand in Florida, covering everything from the southern tip to Orlando to Fort Myers and the areas in between. They want to build these strong homes across Florida.
In Fort Myers, which was hit by Hurricane Ian two years ago, the residents really like our homes.
Pinto mentioned that they are currently searching for development space in Broward and Palm Beach counties to build Onx homes.
She expressed that they are searching for land in Broward County, Palm Beach, and in Pompano itself.
