Massive mixed-use development coming to New Braunfels

A 1,963-acre Texas General Land Office property sandwiching I-35 north of New Braunfels was revealed to be under contract by SouthStar Communities at a luncheon hosted by the Greater New Braunfels Economic Development Foundation on Tuesday, Feb. 11.

Thad Rutherford, SouthStar's president, spoke briefly about the project during a Q&A at the luncheon and materials distributed to attendees listed recent economic milestones for the city, including a note about the GLO land’s status and that a due diligence period is underway.

"We have under contract a very large piece of land within the city of New Braunfels, right off I-35,” Rutherford said during the Q&A. “We talk about it in the office; it's kind of like the dog that caught the bus.”

SouthStar—a local real estate development, management and investment company—is planning a mixed-use development expected to take up to 20 years to complete, according to Rutherford.

The property is split in two by I-35 with the west tract being 731 acres between FM 1102 and the interstate. The eastern tract is 1,232 acres and runs from the interstate to FM 1101, according to a real estate listing on GLO's website.

Previous plans to develop the land can be traced back to 2010 but never came to fruition, and the tracts have sat idle for several years. A brochure on GLO’s website states a deadline of May 31, 2019, for offers on the property.

SouthStar’s website says the company has “been acquiring, investing in and managing residential communities” for more than 20 years.

“We're really big on building communities within a great community,” Rutherford said during the Q&A. “That's one of the reasons why we're here in New Braunfels.”

The Q&A was moderated by chamber President Michael Meek and also featured Hemant Sehgal of TaskUs and Ryan French of Continental Automotive.