Learn More
What is Thomas Ranch?
Areté Collective is creating a new frontier for Lake Travis living with Thomas Ranch, a master-planned community on 2,200 acres in Spicewood. Upon completion, Thomas Ranch will feature housing at various price points and a downtown district with more than 250,000 square feet of retail, restaurants, and services open to the public. The community will also include education, specialized healthcare, a cultural center, and a 5-star boutique resort.
Loraloma is the private community within the development that will house a private 18-hole golf course, residential options ranging from two—to five-bedroom estates, and a selection of custom homesites. For more information, please visit the Loraloma Club & Estates website or email [email protected].
How many units and types of housing will be built at Thomas Ranch?
Through a phased approach, there will eventually be capacity for 3,500 new thoughtfully conceived housing units. In addition to single-family homes, there will be multifamily offerings, townhomes, apartments for rent, senior living opportunities, and affordable housing.
What will the price range be for the homes of Thomas Ranch?
Thomas Ranch will offer various housing options with unique price points for each category. For more pricing information, please contact the sales team at [email protected].
Will I be able to go to Thomas Ranch for shopping, dining, music, and other cultural events?
Yes, Thomas Ranch and its vibrant new city center are meant to be something the entire Austin community can enjoy. From shops and restaurants to a dynamic schedule of events and live music, Areté Collective invites everyone interested to experience the dynamic “downtown” district of Thomas Ranch. A future boutique hotel will also allow for overnight guests and staycations in the Hill Country at Thomas Ranch.
How can local businesses connect with Areté for potential opportunities?
Areté Collective is committed to supporting the local Austin community and invites any interested businesses to contact them at [email protected] to discuss potential partnership opportunities.
What waterfront activities will be accessible to the public at Thomas Ranch?
There will be some public access to the Pedernales River and community pools throughout the property.
Which school district does Thomas Ranch fall under?
Thomas Ranch is currently in the Marble Falls School District, but Areté Collective is exploring expanding public, private, and charter school options.
Who is Areté collective?
Areté Collective is a vertically integrated development company focused on renewing the relationship between the land and the people who call it home. They take pride in delivering properties that intentionally bring people closer to nature while embodying low-impact principles at every step. Their intent is to bring together community and culture while thoughtfully preserving the unique aspects of the developed spaces and establishing vibrant new avenues for neighbors to convene and connect.
Will adding residential and commercial developments in Spicewood increase traffic and roadway accidents?
As the Austin region benefits from job creation and major capital investments, growing pains and challenges related to density are to be expected, including traffic, affordability, water planning, and other concerns. The best way to handle inevitable future growth is to plan for it and bring unique solutions to the table. This is exactly what Areté intends to do at Thomas Ranch, and there are currently plans to build new, safer roadways throughout Spicewood to decrease the number of accidents and increase efficient flow of traffic.
How does the land plan for Thomas Ranch address traffic?
When Areté put the plan together for Thomas Ranch, they studied all the recent accidents on this stretch of Highway 71 and wanted to specifically address how they would improve traffic flow in Spicewood. For the traffic impact analysis plan, they designed a road that cuts right through the middle of the project. This “spine road” is intended to become a signaled interchange that provides connectivity for Thomas Ranch, the town center, and the neighbors of Spicewood. This road combined with the fact that the project is mixed use, and a mixed income development, will lessen traffic impacts. In addition, there will also be a network of inclusive, all-ages pedestrian streets and trails throughout the development to keep those on foot out of harm’s way while connecting them to all the neighborhood’s amenities.
How many entrances and exits will there be for Thomas Ranch?
There will be over ten entrances and exits throughout Thomas Ranch.
When will construction begin for Thomas Ranch?
Infrastructure at Thomas Ranch has commenced, including the wastewater treatment plant, water treatment plant, buried power lines, two turn lanes via SH 71 road widening, and the start of Loraloma Phase 1. Construction will continue in a phased approach.
When are the homes expected to be complete?
Thomas Ranch will be built out over the next 12-15 years.
Will this development fundamentally change the lifestyle of Spicewood?
Areté Collective’s intention is to enhance Spicewood by creating a new frontier when it comes to the area’s lifestyle, and they will work in sync with the community to make this happen. This mindset extends to their overall approach on what development can and should be, which is honoring the beauty of the land and the elements that make the Hill Country and Spicewood such a desirable place to live. With the help of its neighbors and future residents, they will define a new vision for what life beyond the center can be while meeting social, economic, and ecological objectives for a thriving community.
What are the plans for the 58-acre parcel acquired by Wasatch Premier Properties at Thomas Ranch?
Plans for the 58-acre site within downtown Thomas Ranch include nearly 100 townhomes and 500 apartments designed in collaboration with Dallas-based Hensley Lamkin Rachel Inc (HLR). Apartment units will range from 650 to 1,400 square feet, including one-, two-, and three-bedroom options. Two- and three-bedroom townhomes will also be offered on the property and will range from 1,400 to 1,700 square feet. In addition to the array of community amenities at Thomas Ranch, the new complex will have a dog park, swimming pool, spa, clubhouse, yoga and fitness studio, and more.
What fire mitigation plans are in place?
Thomas Ranch has been aggressively performing fire mitigation work as part of its larger mission to protect the land and prepare the greater Spicewood area to withstand this sort of natural disaster.
In addition to planned fire hydrants throughout the masterplan and strategic landscape architectural approaches and building design, the operations undertaken thus far on Thomas Ranch include creating shaded firebreaks by ridding a wide swath of the land’s north and east sides of small saplings, limbs, and dead trees. Areté Collective has already recycled 20,000 linear feet (almost four miles) of silt sock for the Storm Water Prevention Pollution Plan.
What environmental impact will the development have overall?
Thomas Ranch will adopt ecological principles to integrate the development with natural systems. They will incorporate on-site practices, educational programs, community-focused activities and spaces, and a commitment to local producers to promote local agriculture. They will implement passive design strategies for daylight, ventilation, and comfort to reduce energy consumption. To conserve water, they will utilize surface and recycled water rather than groundwater, commit to recycled effluent, and incorporate a landscape palette that lessens water usage.
While in the development phase, what is Areté Collective doing to employ low-impact principles?
Greater Thomas Ranch planning supports low-impact Hill Country conservation by maintaining a lighter touch on the land and paying attention to the landforms and open space opportunities, resulting in a higher percentage of preserved natural vegetation and beautiful open space buffers between lots. To enhance lot value and the experience within nature, all lots have an open space buffer directly behind them rather than another home. Thomas Ranch also minimizes the visual impact of the homes themselves by stepping down wall massing rather than allowing the 15-20ft tall retaining walls we see in other communities. It is often more expensive to design and build well, but Areté strives to maintain value for its members.
What measures are in place to reduce water consumption?
As land stewards, Areté Collective understands the importance of reducing water consumption. Water conservation is at the forefront of their actions in reimagining how water will be used and reused within the community, from the David McLay Kidd golf course to the residential homes of Thomas Ranch. Through Thomas Ranch’s preferred native plant palette, focusing on native and drought-tolerant species, Areté also promotes less water usage over time. Homes will also be equipped with water-wise appliances and fixtures.
The design guidelines support the Hill Country’s greater water conservation by offering its rainwater collection for landscape irrigation on home lots and amenities outside of the master plan community.
Will the homes at Thomas Ranch feature eco-friendly design elements?
Thomas Ranch design guidelines have several resource efficiency strategies, including practices to minimize material waste, support recycling, and implement energy-efficient fixtures. These guidelines also call for selecting environmentally responsible materials that are durable, long-lasting, locally made or indigenous to Texas, made with a significant percentage of post-consumer/post-industrial recycled materials, feature low toxicity, and produce low embodied energy.
What efforts are being made to protect the endangered Golden-Cheeked Warbler in the area?
Areté Collective worked with the Hill Country Conservancy to create the transportation corridor with a minimal footprint, preserving as much existing vegetation and topography as possible so that the Golden-Cheeked Warbler’s habitat would remain mostly intact. BCCP was paid a fee to support and maintain existing conservation areas.
