There's no way around it: Austin's suburbs are all the buzz, with Leander landing a massive entertainment hub and Round Rock earning a top spot among the fastest-growing cities. Now, Cedar Park is shining as one of America's best small cities for 2020.

The list comes from personal finance website WalletHub, which looked at 1,200 U.S. cities with populations between 25,000 and 100,000 for the study. Rankings in five individual categories — affordability, economic health, education and health, quality of life, and safety — were rolled up into an overall score, then assigned a percentage.

"Given the large sample of cities ranked in this study, we grouped cities by percentile. The 99th percentile represents the top 1 percent of small cities in

StoryBuilt is preparing to kick off its latest single-family community as the Austin area is seeing a record-low supply of housing on the market in part due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Pre-sales on the 12-home community — dubbed Clementine — in South Austin will begin Aug. 18. The modern farmhouses will be constructed on roughly two acres at 5107 Menchaca Road, south of U.S. Route 290. The houses will be nestled under Heritage oak trees and built along a singular drive. Clementine will have a shared community pool.

“Clementine is all about living where you love, so not only in a house but in a thriving urban environment,” said Hank Parker, a StoryBuilt architect and development manager for Clementine.

StoryBuilt went under contract to

Construction on The Village at Spanish Oaks—an 80-acre, multiuse development that will complete the Spanish Oaks subdivision in Bee Cave south of Hwy. 71—is scheduled to begin this fall, according to city Planning Director Megan Will.

“The next step is commencing sitewide infrastructure construction (roads, utilities, regional stormwater),” Will told Community Impact Newspaper in an email.

Developers Greenbrier Southwest, in partnership with CCNG Development, first submitted plans for The Village at Spanish Oaks in 2018 that included room for shops, restaurants, office buildings, a swim club, an upscale inn and a spa as well as a range of residences.

On Aug. 17, developer submitted a final plat, which specifically breaks down how a parcel will be developed.