Nearly three years after being approved by city and county officials, construction on the La Cima neighborhood southwest of San Marcos has begun, project developer Eric Willis said.

The development is located on more than 2,000 acres near the intersection of Wonder World Drive and Old RR 12. Willis said he expects La Cima’s first homesites to go on sale by January, and model homes will be complete by June 2018.

La Cima is one of several master-planned communities—along with Trace and Kissing Tree—being built in San Marcos.

“Our community, along with Trace, along with Kissing Tree, it’s going to transform San Marcos,” Willis said. “You’ve got three master-planned developments attacking multiple price points in San Marcos, and it’s going to be a really good thing.”

La Cima will feature more than 2,000 total living units when it is fully built out in 10-12 years, Willis said. Among the amenities to be offered in the neighborhood are a junior Olympic-level swimming pool, walking trails, a fitness center, and more than 800 acres of parks and open space.

La Cima is located within the recharge zone of the Edwards Aquifer, which supplies much of Central Texas, including the San Marcos springs, with water. As part of the development agreement among the city, county and developer, La Cima is subject to stricter environmental regulations than what was in the city's code at the time the development was approved.

The development is limited to no more than 20 percent impervious cover—surfaces such as concrete that do not allow water to filter back into the ground—and the development cannot cause water to drain off the site faster than would happen if the site remained undeveloped.

Still, some city residents have expressed concern about La Cima's potential environmental impacts.

At a San Marcos CISD board of trustees meeting in June, where trustees discussed the potential site of the district's next elementary school, residents warned that the neighborhood's location could present a hazard to the aquifer.

Willis said he disagrees, and although the district chose Trace as the site for the new school, he believes SMCISD's growth will eventually necessitate a campus on a 15-acre site within the neighborhood that has already been dedicated as a school site.

Willis said he believes La Cima will fill a gap between Trace, which will offer homes starting below $200,000s, and Kissing Tree, a 55-plus community offering homes from the mid-$200,000s to the low $500,000s.

La Cima’s first phase will include 128 homes on 50- and 60-foot-wide lots. Future phases will include homes on 70- and 80-foot-wide lots.

The neighborhood’s builders include Scott Felder Homes, Highland Homes and Wilshire Homes.

“We hear people go, ‘Man all these master-planned communities: Are there really enough people here?’” Willis said. “All I can tell you is we keep hearing from the Realtors, and they’re excited about this opportunity.”