Austin Real Estate Scene

You can expect to see a luxury community being developed on the former Covert family ranch on Lake Travis’ south shore.

Called “Vizcaya,” Spanish for “an elevated plain,” the project will be built over a ten-year period on 1,050 acres off Bee Creek Road toward Pace Bend Park. Vizcaya will include trails, a marina and an 18-hole Reese Jones–designed golf course. Design guidelines will limit the amount of land that can be covered with structures and pavement, said Paul Fay III, chairman and chief executive of Haas & Haynie.

“We’re trying to create a Shangri-La in the Austin area,” Fay said. “This is the Hill Country, and we want people to feel like they’re in the Hill Country.”

A preliminary subdivision plat will be filed soon with Travis County. Phase one infrastructure work is targeted to start next spring, followed by construction of the golf course and water and wastewater plants.

Construction on the first of the planned 450 to 500 custom homes is expected to start in 2009.

The developer is a San Francisco based construction company called, Haas & Haynie. Developer Haas & Haynie

The project is large, “but not in terms of density,” said Austin lawyer David Armbrust, Haas & Haynie’s attorney. The lots will range in size from about half an acre up to 2.5 acres.

In December, the Lower Colorado River Authority board approved water contracts for the project. A municipal utility district will be created to issue bonds to finance water, wastewater and drainage facilities.

Source: Austin American-Statesman