AUSTIN Metro Update Thread

[AustinYIMBY]

It is so crazy for me to think that these individual mega subdivisions that are being proposed/built will each have more residents than the entire small town I grew up in. And there are so many going in, that they aren't really even big news(except when the community objects).

[drummer]

Originally Posted by AustinYIMBY

It is so crazy for me to think that these individual mega subdivisions that are being proposed/built will each have more residents than the entire small town I grew up in. And there are so many going in, that they aren't really even big news(except when the community objects).

I have family in Marble Falls. One of them told me that there are somewhere around 4,000 house tops being planned near 281 and 71 on the south side of the incorporated portion of the city along with the ETJ. Three or four separate developments. I think the city proper only has around 7,000 residents, not including the other small towns that sort of act as suburbs to Marble Falls.

It's nuts. A lot of these smaller towns are going to change in a big way.

[Lobotomizer]

Originally Posted by drummer

I have family in Marble Falls. One of them told me that there are somewhere around 4,000 house tops being planned near 281 and 71 on the south side of the incorporated portion of the city along with the ETJ. Three or four separate developments. I think the city proper only has around 7,000 residents, not including the other small towns that sort of act as suburbs to Marble Falls.

It's nuts. A lot of these smaller towns are going to change in a big way.

Those 4,000 homes by themselves at build-out will probably enough to get Burnet in the metro. I say this under the assumption most of the residents in these homes will be commuting into Austin.

[drummer]

Originally Posted by Lobotomizer

Those 4,000 homes by themselves at build-out will probably enough to get Burnet in the metro. I say this under the assumption most of the residents in these homes will be commuting into Austin.

Yeah, for sure. I know a lot of folks in both Burnet and Marble Falls that commute already. Southern Burnet County is where most of the growth has historically been, albeit not quite at the same rate as suburbs in the metro, of course. It will be interesting to see what happens with Burnet (city) now that Liberty Hill is growing so much.

[drummer]

To continue the conversation of rapid growth in far-flung suburbs, here is a quick write-up on Jarrell and its school district, which is poised to triple its attendance over the next decade. They mention in the article that there are currently fifteen subdivisions either planned or actively building right now.

http://wilcosun.com/pages/news/2022/020922jisd.php

[Lobotomizer]

Liberty Hill and Jarrell are definitely the next Wilco boom burbs. Taylor could really take off as well.

[drummer]

Originally Posted by Lobotomizer

Liberty Hill and Jarrell are definitely the next Wilco boom burbs. Taylor could really take off as well.

I would say Liberty Hill has already started booming. Have you been over that way lately? It's insane, and is only going to become more insane.

Taylor is going to boom in ways we've never seen with Samsung going in. Hutto is getting Applied Materials and a couple other big ones also, which will impact Taylor.

[Geckos_Rule]

Originally Posted by Lobotomizer

Liberty Hill and Jarrell are definitely the next Wilco boom burbs. Taylor could really take off as well.

Yup -- My parents live on some land out near Jarrell, and it's already been booming (relatively speaking). Even 4-ish years ago, the land alongside FM 487 was functionally empty for about a 5 mile stretch, outside of spots alongside I-35, and the Jarrell high school.

Looking at it today, there are at least 2-3000 houses in the area, with more and more under construction. And soon, the commercial development will follow.

[H2O]

Originally Posted by drummer

I would say Liberty Hill has already started booming. Have you been over that way lately? It's insane, and is only going to become more insane.

Taylor is going to boom in ways we've never seen with Samsung going in. Hutto is getting Applied Materials and a couple other big ones also, which will impact Taylor.

Yep, I drove out to Burnet the other day. It was kind of hard to tell where Leander left off and Liberty Hill started. Bertram and Burnet are next.

[drummer]

Originally Posted by H2O

Yep, I drove out to Burnet the other day. It was kind of hard to tell where Leander left off and Liberty Hill started. Bertram and Burnet are next.

I've wondered that or if most of the growth will instead push north on 183A since they're building the overpass over 29 currently. Bertram and Burnet will both certainly see growth in the same way that Marble Falls will from growth traveling up 71. I think we need to watch smaller places like Andice and Florence as growth pushed north on 183 and 195 in the same way that Jarrell is popping up quickly from I-35, which is obviously a different animal.

It will be interesting to see how growth on the east side of the metro compares to growth on the west side though. Cost of construction in the Hill Country is significantly higher and obviously there are more natural barriers to sprawl (i.e., a giant system of man-made lakes, hills, protected areas), along with less infrastructure. Not to mention a lot of the huge employers are seemingly coming in along the 130 corridor, as other threads have noted already.

The east side has 130 in all its infamy, along with a greater number of spokes sticking out in an eastward direction, as well as a kinda-sorta grid of major thoroughfares from existing sprawl.

North connects to Killeen/Temple, Waco, and DFW.

East connects to Brazos Valley, Houston, as well as sea ports for containers (Houston and others).

South connects to San Antonio, Corpus Christi, RVG, and Mexico for imports/exports.

West connects to tourism, ranches, and protected land. While there is a lot of growth popping up, it pales in comparison. I, for one, would like to keep sprawl to a minimum in the Hill Country as much as we can for a lot of reasons.

[kingkirbythe....]

TxDOT breaks ground on $36.5M project along I-35

https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/lo...t-16974867.php

A new road meant to alleviate traffic from I-35 has begun in San Marcos. Hays County Commissioner Debbie Ingalsbe, San Marcos mayor Jane Hughson, and CAMPO executive director Ashley Johnson broke ground on the project Tuesday, March 1. The $36.5 million FM 110 North project includes a section of new roadway from SH 80 to I-35 with one lane in each direction, 10-foot shoulders, and a bridge over SH 21.

[urbancore]

Originally Posted by kingkirbythe....

TxDOT breaks ground on $36.5M project along I-35

https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/lo...t-16974867.php

A new road meant to alleviate traffic from I-35 has begun in San Marcos. Hays County Commissioner Debbie Ingalsbe, San Marcos mayor Jane Hughson, and CAMPO executive director Ashley Johnson broke ground on the project Tuesday, March 1. The $36.5 million FM 110 North project includes a section of new roadway from SH 80 to I-35 with one lane in each direction, 10-foot shoulders, and a bridge over SH 21.

"alleviate"

[gabetx]

Originally Posted by urbancore

"alleviate"

Until all of the new subdivisions and shopping centers start popping up along it.

[SproutingTowers]

Originally Posted by kingkirbythe....

TxDOT breaks ground on $36.5M project along I-35

https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/lo...t-16974867.php

A new road meant to alleviate traffic from I-35 has begun in San Marcos. Hays County Commissioner Debbie Ingalsbe, San Marcos mayor Jane Hughson, and CAMPO executive director Ashley Johnson broke ground on the project Tuesday, March 1. The $36.5 million FM 110 North project includes a section of new roadway from SH 80 to I-35 with one lane in each direction, 10-foot shoulders, and a bridge over SH 21.

This narrow road sounds similar to the Westpark Tollway in Houston.

[drummer]

Sharing from the transportation thread since it affects a lot of the NW suburbs as well.

Originally Posted by drummer

Tolls coming to US 183 North, neighbors want to see project get done quick

https://www.kxan.com/traffic/tolls-c...et-done-quick/

[ATX2030]

3,173 acres purchased for massive community in Caldwell County
RREAF has plans for thousands of single-family, multifamily residences

https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/n...-purchase.html

By Michelle Pitcher – Staff Writer, Austin Business Journal
Apr 28, 2022

A Dallas-based developer has closed on more than 3,000 acres in Caldwell County, with plans to construct an eclectic mixed-use neighborhood that will bring thousands of homes to the region.

RREAF Communities, a division of RREAF Holdings LLC, will develop the community, which has yet to be named. The 3,173-acre subdivision will be located along the Austin-San Antonio corridor, at the intersection of State Highways 130 and 80. The land is undeveloped.

Initial plans for the neighborhood include between 4,000 and 6,000 single-family homes, according to Kip Sowden, chairman and CEO of RREAF Holdings. That's roughly what the Circle C neighborhood in Southwest Austin offers today.

The developer also plans to include approximately 3,000 multifamily units, as well as 2,500 built-to-rent houses. Sowden said these numbers may change as the development process moves forward.

The developer also plans to have retail space, restaurants, hotels, offices, health care facilities, industrial sites and schools in the community, according to an announcement. There will also be amenities including trails, outdoor event spaces and fitness centers.

"In these master-planned neighborhoods, you want to have products to attract all kinds of people and be able to target them at the price points where they can afford to buy," Sowden said.

Shannon Livingston, president of RREAF Communities, said the developer hopes to break ground during the second quarter of 2023. He said the first homes will likely be delivered in the first quarter of 2025. RREAF will be the builder for the multifamily and built-to-rent products in the community, and plans to tap outside builders for the single-family product.

The location was chosen for its proximity to two high-demand housing markets in Austin and San Antonio, as well as the burgeoning corridor between the two major metros.

Experts have predicted that the Austin-San Antonio corridor may soon be comparable to other large metroplexes, such as Dallas-Fort Worth. Hays County saw the largest population growth in the country between 2010 and 2020 at 53%, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Its neighbor to the southwest, Comal County, grew by about 49% during the same time.

"There is this unbridled demand, greater than anything I've ever seen in the business, and we're trying hard to develop to meet that demand because supply cannot keep up," Livingston said.

Examples of other master-planned communities in the corridor include the 1,900-acre Mayfair in New Braunfels, which is expected to have around 6,000 residential units, plus 70 acres of commercial space and 120 acres dedicated to mixed-use development; 2,400-acre Sunfield in Buda, which last year was one of the fastest-growing communities in the entire metro; and the 1,332-acre Kissing Tree age-restricted community in San Marcos.

The corridor is seeing a rush of industry interest in the area, including from electric vehicle manufacturers.

RREAF Communities was established in 2020. The division focuses on developing master-planned communities in large markets in Texas.

[kingkirbythe....]

‘Explosive growth’ between San Antonio and Austin entices company to build 3,173-acre community

https://www.expressnews.com/sa-inc/a...y-17144712.php

As land between Austin and San Antonio is filled with subdivisions, stores and warehouses, and populations of cities along the corridor surge, a Dallas company is seeking to capitalize on the boom.

RREAF Communities recently bought 3,173 undeveloped acres at Texas 130 and Texas 80 south of Lockhart and east of San Marcos.

It’s about 60 miles from downtown San Antonio and 50 miles from downtown Austin.

The company’s master plan includes from 4,000 to 6,000 single-family homes for purchase, 2,000 to 2,500 build-to-rent single-family homes and 2,500 to 3,000 apartments. It is seeking to work with home builders.

Retail, restaurants, hotels, offices, healthcare services, light industrial facilities and schools would also be part of the development. It also calls for hike-and-bike trails, outdoor pavilions, athletic fields and fitness centers.

“We feel like that area is experiencing explosive growth and has great access to both the San Antonio and Austin MSAs,” said Shannon Livingston, president of RREAF Communities.

[ILUVSAT]

^^^Absolutely massive development. And, to be specific, it's in Austin's Metro Area (Caldwell County).

[ski-man]

Originally Posted by kingkirbythe....

‘Explosive growth’ between San Antonio and Austin entices company to build 3,173-acre community

https://www.expressnews.com/sa-inc/a...y-17144712.php

As land between Austin and San Antonio is filled with subdivisions, stores and warehouses, and populations of cities along the corridor surge, a Dallas company is seeking to capitalize on the boom.

RREAF Communities recently bought 3,173 undeveloped acres at Texas 130 and Texas 80 south of Lockhart and east of San Marcos.

It’s about 60 miles from downtown San Antonio and 50 miles from downtown Austin.

The company’s master plan includes from 4,000 to 6,000 single-family homes for purchase, 2,000 to 2,500 build-to-rent single-family homes and 2,500 to 3,000 apartments. It is seeking to work with home builders.

Retail, restaurants, hotels, offices, healthcare services, light industrial facilities and schools would also be part of the development. It also calls for hike-and-bike trails, outdoor pavilions, athletic fields and fitness centers.

“We feel like that area is experiencing explosive growth and has great access to both the San Antonio and Austin MSAs,” said Shannon Livingston, president of RREAF Communities.

This development is very close to the San Marcos River. Get ready for the pushback with possible pollution or turning the water from the nice blue color in that area.

[lzppjb]

Do we know what side of the 130/80 intersection? I'm trying to figure out what ISD is about to get a boom in population.