Subdivisions to break ground in Westlake and Hudson Bend

Newcomers to the area may have added housing choices in the near future: Westlake's Tipco subdivision and Hudson Bend's Cresta Tramonta. The subdivisions are currently in Austin's permitting process.

Westlake area

On Oct. 1, local civil engineering firm Carlson Brigance and Duering Inc. filed a site plan with the city of Austin for an 85-acre tract near Far Gallant Drive and Scenic View Drive, said Don Perryman, Austin Planning and Development Review Department case manager. He said the plans for the proposed Tipco subdivision show 24 lots, 21 of which are single-family lots.

The tract appears to be highly sloped, Perryman said of the project site.

The property is located in Austin's 2-mile extraterritorial jurisdiction, or ETJ, and the city sent a notice of the subdivision's filing to area residents Oct. 15, he said.

Perryman said his office has already received opposition to the project from a neighbor who emailed concerns about nearby The High Road's inability to adequately serve the potential increase in traffic from the new homesites. Additionally, he said the neighbor said that Petticoat Lane was too narrow to accommodate the additional cars.

A private street that would connect Far Gallant Drive with Scenic View Drive is shown on the plans, Perryman said.

The preliminary plan lists 32.18 acres for open space and easements with a circular drive entry gate on Far Gallant Drive at Dell Manor Road.

A public hearing will be set in Spring 2014, giving area residents the opportunity to voice their opinion on the subdivision, Perryman said. A traffic impact study is not required because the applicant is not requesting a zoning change, and the subdivision parcels are of a smaller quantity, he said.

Filed documents on the city of Austin's website list the Steven J. Dell Trust as owner of the property.

Hudson Bend area

Cresta Tramonta, a joint build between Houston-based Castle Rock Communities and local developer Cosmo Palmieri of Eck Lane Properties LP, is a planned 14.75-acre site. The development is located at 4429 Eck Lane in the La Hacienda Estates subdivision, Palmieri said.

The gated community will consist of 38 units—individual detached homesites with condominium-style ownership—and is slated to break ground around the beginning of 2014, he said. About 80 percent of the property will be green space, and some models will have views of Lake Travis from their second story, he said.

"The development will have one of the lower price points in the Lakeway area and will fill a niche with its starting price estimated from the [mid–$200,000s] to the high [$300,000s]," Palmieri said.

Palmieri said he has owned the property for the past five or six years but was waiting until the market was right to build.

"There's a demand for lots in the Lake Travis area now, and there's low supply," he said.

Greg Varney, Castle Rock Communities sales counselor, said the home sizes will range from 1,800 square feet to 2,500 square feet with a minimum of three bedrooms.

"We've got a whole new product designed for this location—a Texas contemporary look," Varney said.

He said Cresta Tramonta will be Castle Rock Communities' first construction in Austin's ETJ. The company has built more than 1,000 units in 2013 and developed other subdivisions in Central Texas including the Preserve at Lakeway, he said.

A formal site plan for the Cresta Tramonta development was submitted to the city of Austin Planning and Review Department on Oct. 10, said case manager Donna Galati.