Tim O’Connor said he remembers the 1993 opening day at The Backyard’s original music venue on Hwy. 71 in Bee Cave.

“It was a warm, sunny day,” the former owner said. “Most people told me [the venue] would never work because it was so far out [of town]. I laid on the grass by the east gate opening and watched people to see if they liked it. Everyone who came in was awestruck—just the beauty of the trees and the setting we had found to put music in.”

Now O’Connor has teamed up with Frank Davis, a local peach farmer and entrepreneur, to return to his roots—good music in a simple Hill Country venue—by building the Ranch at Fall Creek, 26905 Hwy. 71, in Spicewood.

The project will serve as a center for community events, festivals and concerts, said Davis, who bought the property in 2004. It will include an indoor arena—Fall Creek Music Hall—converted from an existing building; an outdoor venue—The Backyard at Fall Creek; and a 28,000-square-foot car museum—Austin Auto Museum, he said.

“I’m a big music lover,” Davis said. “We decided to build the indoor music venue because there just isn’t anything out here like it.”

Davis said he has been waiting for the right time to open the venue.

The roads have improved west of Hwy. 71, and new subdivisions—such as West Cypress Hills—are being constructed, he said.

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"It’s the right time in my life," Davis said. "I tell my kids 'I'd rather have a life of what was [rather] than a life of what-ifs.'"

Davis said he met with O’Connor in October, and the two approached the Spicewood project with an eye toward recreating the original Backyard.

“In the next 10 to 15 years, Spicewood is going to become the next Bee Cave,” Davis said of the area’s growth.

The Ranch at Fall Creek complex encompasses a 27-acre tract along Hwy. 71, between Fall Creek Road and Fall Creek Cemetery, he said. Fall Creek Music Hall will comprise four stories and 38,000 square feet, accommodating no more than 1,800 patrons, he said.

“[Fall Creek Music Hall] is going to be like a small ‘Austin City Limits,’” Davis said.

The outdoor venue will be able to host up to 5,000 patrons, with Fall Creek as its backdrop, he said.

The Texas Department of Transportation confirmed Aug. 5 it will begin construction this spring on a center turn lane on Hwy. 71 at Fall Creek.

A 2016 opening date is targeted for the venue, Davis said.

“We want to make [Ranch at Fall Creek] look like a state park and become a part of the community just like The Backyard at Bee Cave was during the early years of Bee Cave,” he said.

Travis County commissioners have approved site plans for the indoor venue but not for the outdoor venue.

Proposed Fall Creek Farmhouse

The Fall Creek Farmhouse, a country store featuring local produce and wares found in the area’s farmers markets, is slated to be built in 2016 on the same development as proposed venue The Ranch at Fall Creek at the corner of Fall Creek Road and Hwy. 71, said Kathleen Henderson, founder of Spicewood’s Tomato Happy Hour Market and Gardens.

Henderson and Frank Davis will develop the 4-acre organic store and complex.

“I have always wanted to do an outdoor market,” she said. “Spicewood does not have a town center, and we need a place to gather.”

The barn-like store will be open five days a week and offer locally grown vegetables, produce, jams, jellies, olive oils, herbs, salsa, breads and soaps, Henderson said. Seasonal festivals, such as a fall festival, will be hosted on the grounds, she said.

“There’s so much talent in Texas, especially in Spicewood, to highlight,” Henderson said.

Travis County commissioners  may decide event permit changes Aug. 11

The Travis County Commissioners Court considered changes to its mass-gatherings permit process—the way residents and businesses can apply to hold events and concerts—during its July 7 meeting and may vote on a new process Aug. 11.

The commissioners voted to designate the county’s fire marshal as the single point of contact for the mass-gatherings permit application process.  However, the court did not vote on other proposed changes, including establishing a form that an applicant would be required to submit to the county prior to an event. This application would require that amplified sound is prohibited at certain times, and sound must not exceed a certain volume.

At the meeting, some Spicewood residents said they have concerns about the safety, traffic and environment surrounding the proposed Fall Creek Road music venue, Ranch at Fall Creek.

Frank Davis, Ranch at Fall Creek property owner, said he held a community meeting June 14 to discuss the Fall Creek project.

“A lot of people are receptive to the [venue] idea, but there is a group who has the opinion that the people who will attend The Backyard at Fall Creek are nefarious,” Davis said. “They remember the 2003 Willie Nelson Fourth of July picnic with The Grateful Dead. That concert sold 72,000 tickets.”

Promoters and developers told commissioners they want to work with the county to figure out other solutions besides the proposed revisions.

None of the 254 Texas counties have implemented similar restrictions limiting sound amplification, events management company owner Scott Davidson said to the Commissioners Court.

“We have a beautiful piece of property out there and want to have one or two shows a month,” Davis said.

“We are not looking to unduly hamper anyone’s property rights, but that means finding some balance between competing property rights,” Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt said.

Kelli Weldon contributed to this story.