Austin Business Journal reports, "a Wyoming-based developer is eyeing a 722-acre development in Georgetown that could bring 1,500 homes and a 15-acre resort hotel to the west side of Lake Georgetown.
While the project is still in its initial stages, representatives from Zovest Capital LLC on June 27 presented a proposal to the Georgetown City Council to support creating a municipal utility district for Lakeside Estates, which would be next to Santa Rita Ranch in the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction. The Santa Rita Ranch neighborhood is still being built out, but it's already one of the biggest neighborhoods in Central Texas.
Zovest's development would add upscale single-family housing to what has been the fastest-growing city in the United States for the last two years. Georgetown reached a 2022 population estimate of 86,507. That was a 14.4% year-over-year increase. The median home sale price in Williamson County last month was $439,990 — a nearly 14% year-over-year drop as prices continue to normalize.
Lakeside Estates would help meet the needs of Georgetown's swelling population with 1,500 homes across diverse housing types — primarily ranging from 45-foot to 80-foot lots, but also including 145 one-acre lots. The plans also include 15 acres for the hotel or resort, 4.7 acres for a private amenity center and 131 acres of open space that would include about 34 acres for a public park, according to City Council documents. Construction was projected to start in February 2025 with full buildout by 2028.
The developers have been identified by various news outlets as Zovest, which offers full-scale land development services, according to its website. The Lakeside Estates project is listed there, along with a number of other projects in the Austin area, including the Enclave at Liberty Hill, Twin Creek at Manor and the Riverside Duplexes in Georgetown, according to its website.
Williamson County property records show Lakeside Estates Georgetown LLC in 2021 purchased the six parcels totaling 722 acres. The properties had a total value of $17.8 million in 2022.
Representatives from Kimley Horn and Associates Inc. and SEC Planning LLC spoke mostly on behalf of the developer during the June 27 meeting and were seeking support from the Council for the creation of the municipal utility district — a district that requires legislative approval and could be used to finance infrastructure and facilities on the land.
More specifically the developers were asking for support to address what was referred to as "two of the big challenges" on site: wastewater and access. Because of the project's location, developers are seeking to create a temporary "package plant" on the site to reduce utility costs and provide water until infrastructure is built to connect into the city's water system. They also said they've discussed with the county proposals to extend county roads.
While no formal vote was taken, Council members expressed support for the creation of the MUD.
"This is a good, in my opinion, a very good workable solution with a developer that has brought forth a very well-thought out plan," Council Member Shawn Hood said. "I appreciate the degrees of diversity of home-type product in the plan. I appreciate the consideration of parks that will be public and private for both the residences of that development as well as the citizens of Georgetown. I think this is a very well thought-out proposal.""
Source: Austin Business Journal
Written by: Justin Sayers
Published: July 3, 2023
Posted by Grossman & Jones Group on
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