The Vineyard at Florence, which bills itself as the first residential winery in Texas, is located on 600 acres off FM 487.
While the vineyard first started in 2007, the resort-style property—which includes not only the winery, but also lodging, an event venue, restaurant and spa—underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation before reopening in 2021, according to an April 28 press release by Dallas-based management company Hoque Global.
Lots in the first residential phase began selling in August 2021 with the first construction beginning in spring 2022, said Roland Castillo, a Realtor with Keller Williams Cedar Park and one of the real estate agents selling properties at the vineyard.
Castillo said Phase 1 consists of about 70 custom homesites averaging between 2-2.5 acres each. All but about a dozen of these lots have sold as of mid-June, Castillo said.
Brandon Adkinson, CEO of KCE Homes of Texas, one of the preferred custom homebuilders for Phase 1 along with Grand Endeavor Homes, said while none of the homes are completed yet, several have started construction, and the first residents should move in this fall.
Homes being built at The Vineyard at Florence range from $800,000- $3 million in value and from 2,500-6,200 square feet, Adkinson said. He said the new homes must adhere to a strict design code and are in the Old World Italian or Tuscan style, similar to Cimarron Hills in Georgetown.
Castillo said he expects lots in the next phase of residential development at the vineyard—about 100-125 more homes—to be released within a year. Castillo said the vision is to bring about 1,200 homes to the winery within the next five to six years, with builders beginning to build spec homes on smaller lots.
“This first phase was kind of a litmus test, if you wish, to see how it went, and it’s gone very well,” Castillo said.
He said the demand is there to support more than 1,000 homes in Florence, citing its relative proximity to Austin, growth of the tech industry in Williamson County and the build-out occurring in Georgetown.
“We are seeing a lot of activity in the Florence area and on the outskirts of the Georgetown area,” he said. “The big deal is that whole [I-35] corridor is being filled up because really there is nowhere else to go.”
So far, Castillo said the community has attracted buyers from the Austin area as well as other states, including Colorado and California.
“I think we are catching people in the vineyard because they want to get away from the noise,” Adkinson said. “The vineyard is a very quiet place.”
Note: This story is part of Community Impact Newspaper's annual Real Estate Edition.
