In June, the Miami-based company Crystal Lagoons announced its partnership with the developers of Ascensions on Lake Travis, a master-planned community located about 35 miles northwest of Austin.
News of the development comes just months after another Crystal Lagoons project in Leander, called Leander Springs, lost a $1 billion incentives deal with the city due to multiple missed construction deadlines.
The details
Per the release, the Ascensions on Lake Travis community will include residential units, retail boutiques, restaurants and concert venues.
The lagoon itself will be publicly accessible for swimming and water sports through ticketed entry.
While the project could be the first of its kind in the Austin area, Crystal Lagoons has over 275 projects in various stages of development across the country, including 70 in Texas, according to the release.
Completed Crystal Lagoons projects include the 12-acre Lago Mar in Texas City, Balmoral in Atascocita and Windsong Ranch in Prosper.
Where things stand
Ascensions Developer Derek Diaz said the lagoon portion of the project is still in the conceptual design phase, but he hopes to break ground sometime in 2025.
While the Ascensions on Lake Travis Condominiums project has been approved by Travis County for several years, staff said they have not yet received permit requests for the crystal lagoon or resort plans. The currently-approved condo plans allow up to 165 units to be built.
"I think it's a great addition," Diaz said. "The ability to swim and enjoy water, even with [the] constant fluctuation of the lake."
What they're saying
As drought conditions persist in the Lake Travis region, water conservation remains top of mind for community leaders.
Crystal Lagoons spokesperson Ivan Manzur addressed water concerns in a statement, citing that its lagoons use 33 times less water than a golf course, on average.
Manzur said the lagoons only require additional water during dry periods, and to mitigate excess evaporation, a "molecular film technology" can be used.
Diaz said the water source for the Ascensions lagoon has not been determined as of press time.
In other news
Leander Mayor Christine DeLisle said water usage was a major concern for city leaders in the Leander Springs approval process.
In early discussions with the city, developers for the project even proposed using an above-ground, magnetic monorail system that would carry over 100 million gallons of water per day from the Sam Rayburn Reservoir to Leander.
The ambitious proposal was quickly dismissed, and instead, the council approved plans for the lagoon to utilize a private water well.
"In Central Texas, water is a more and more precious resource every year, so any city has to look at that usage, where the water is coming from, because we have to be good stewards," DeLisle said. "On top of that, this [lagoon project] is something that is so new and different from what we normally deal with. It becomes very complicated, very quickly."
Since the city of Leander terminated its incentives deal for the Leander Springs development, DeLisle said the future of the project remains uncertain.
Leander Springs developer Andrey Derevianko said the company is still in the process of crafting a PUD amendment to bring before the council.
When asked whether the project plans would still include a crystal lagoon going forward, Derevianko and Crystal Lagoons both declined to comment.
