Grossman & Jones Real Estate Blog - development

"Luxury homes replace church in Brentwood, a new normal juxtaposition for Austin"

Austin Business Journal writes, "a handful of new luxury homes have started hitting the market in Central Austin’s Brentwood neighborhood.

Brentwood Heights, as the community is called, is a 1.4-acre, eight-home co-development from Cascade Homes and Urbane Roost, and the luxury residences come with a hefty price tag: $1.6 million to $1.9 million, according to an Aug. 17 announcement.

It's a price point that even those already living in Brentwood may struggle to afford. But new luxury homes for sale right beside older and cheaper properties is the direction Austin is trending in, Ashley Jackson, 2023 president of the Austin Board of Realtors. The Brentwood area is located a few miles west of where U.S. Route 183 meets I-35.

Two of the homes…

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"AISD is building teacher housing amid affordability crunch"

AXIOS Austin reports, "in an effort to recruit and retain teachers amid the city's rising cost of living, Austin ISD is trying something new: building housing.

• It's part of a national trend of school districts working to help chronically underpaid teachers afford to live where they teach.

Driving the news: Within 12 months, the district plans to choose developers, who will construct and manage two residential complexes with 600 units on unused district land.

• It plans to lease the former Ana Ferrales Coy Facility and former Rosedale Elementary School to developers who will be able to leverage its property tax-free status to keep rents affordable, Austin ISD director of real estate Jeremy Striffler tells Axios.
• They'll be…

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"Wildhorn Capital aims to develop 2,000-plus apartments off East Riverside"

Austin Business Journal shares, "Austin-based real estate investment firm Wildhorn Capital LLC is moving forward with plans to redevelop hundreds of South Austin apartments. It could quadruple the number of residences on the site, potentially bringing more change to a busy pocket of the city and ramping up the debate over affordable housing.

The company wants City Hall to rezone the 530 units at 2207 Wickersham Lane and 2239 Cromwell Circle, which appear to be complexes called Hillside Villas and The Patten, and raise the site's building height limit from 40 feet to as high as 120 feet. The change would clear the way for the boutique investment firm to create 2,100 apartments in an area close to downtown, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and…

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"Meritage Homes eager to add to Turner's Crossing neighborhood in far South Austin"

Austin Business Journal writes, "Meritage Homes of Texas LLC continues to expand its Turner's Crossing neighborhood in far South Austin.

More homes could soon rise in the neighborhood off Turnersville Road, in Austin's extraterritorial jurisdiction near the city of Buda. Austin's Planning Commission on Aug. 8 recommended to City Council the approval of the third phase of Turner's Crossing.

Meritage is seeking a final plat for 267 new single-family lots on more than 41 acres, south of the State Highway 45 toll road.

It would be another step forward for what what's planned as a large community about 10 miles south of downtown Austin. If fully constructed, the development could have more than 1,300 single-family homes on 468 acres, Austin…

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"Landsea Homes to build in budding Lariat neighborhood"

Austin Business Journal reports, "months after relocating its headquarters to North Texas from Southern California, a national homebuilder is erecting residences in one of Central Texas’ most explosive cities.

Dallas-based Landsea Homes (Nasdaq: LSEA) purchased 84 lots to build on within Liberty Hill’s sprawling 688-acre Lariat neighborhood — developed by Liberty Hill-based Randolph Texas Development LLC — the homebuilder announced Aug. 3.

Landsea, which announced its corporate relocation to Dallas in March, now has more than 1,000 homes planned for cities surrounding Austin. And, according to Landsea’s website, Central Texas is the state’s only region Landsea has projects being worked on in.

Landsea’s offerings within Lariat will be varied,…

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"Home prices stabilize after historic highs in Southwest Austin area"

Community Impact Austin writes, "even as Southwest Austin remains among the most desirable and pricier areas of the metro to buy or rent, local data points to the housing market settling down after a recent burst of activity.

Movement toward a more balanced market has been underway since last year with observers crediting broader trends, such as rising interest rates, lasting inflation and more mild job growth, for spurring the changes. Every month in 2023 has seen local homes priced well below 2022 levels and taking longer to sell.

The days of new home listings drawing crowds and selling rapidly are not entirely over, some real estate experts said. Generally, they said buyers now have a better chance to explore their options thanks to narrowing…

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"More housing could be headed to Lakeway"

Austin Business Journal reports, "Lakeway City Council must decide whether to rezone a 33.9-acre tract and clear the way for a largely residential community in the city.

At an Aug. 2 meeting, Lakeway’s Zoning and Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend the rezoning to Council. The proposed change would see the tract switch from single-family temp zoning to a planned unit development, according to the meeting agenda.

Housing developer Cascade Homes LLC made the rezoning request for the Balcones Point PUD on behalf of the property owners, the MB Winborn Trust and Gregory & Kenneth Winborn Irrevocable Trust.

It was not clear when Council could vote on the rezoning. It typically meets on the third Monday of each month.

If built, the…

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"Austin expedites land use reforms for denser housing"

Austin Business Journal reports, "a push by a handful of Austin-based nonprofits to expedite construction of denser, more affordable housing has garnered a response from City Hall.

A coalition of housing-focused organizations issued a call to city leaders on July 7 to expedite code changes to enable developers to build denser and faster than previously allowed. The letter was from the Austin Housing Coalition, Transit Forward, HousingWorks Austin and the Austin Justice Coalition.

About two weeks later, Austin City Council unanimously approved a resolution July 20 that authorizes the city manager to propose code amendments that complement the city’s ongoing piecemeal changes to its land development code. The ultimate goal is to streamline…

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"Multifamily development bringing 119 homes to Sam Bass corridor in Round Rock"

Community Impact Austin writes, "a multifamily project that was recently rezoned would bring a planned 119 housing units to the Sam Bass Road corridor, providing additional housing in a quickly growing area.

What's happening

Round Rock officials voted July 27 on a request to rezone 8.51 acres of land at the intersection of Sam Bass Road and Meadows Drive. The land was previously zoned for public facilities, such as assisted living, government services, medical clinics, places of worship, schools and public offices. It was also previously owned by Freedom Church but was recently sold to a residential developer, said Brad Wiseman, Round Rock's director of planning and development services.

Long story short

The city's comprehensive land-use plan shows this…

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"Travis Club gearing up to start construction on huge waterfront site"

Austin Business Journal reports, "construction is finally nearing for a 1,058-acre master-planned community west of Austin with an 18-hole golf course.

Plans call for the neighborhood, the Travis Club, to rise on an undeveloped bend of Lake Travis between Thurman Bend Estates and the Briarcliff community.

The resort-style community is being developed by Menlo Park, California-based real estate developer Haas & Haynie Corp. and Austin-based real estate investment firm Castle Hill Partners Inc.

The final plat of the first phase was approved July 18 by Travis County commissioners, which clears the way for the first 53 single-family homes and 68 "villa" units to be built on nearly 340 acres. That will be major milestone for a sometimes…

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