The Hill Country Field Station, recently announced by the university, will be located at Mirasol Springs, a development on the Pedernales River from Steve Winn, founder of RealPage and CEO of Mirasol Capital, companies focused on the real estate industry.
In addition to the field station, the property will consist of a hotel, cottages and homesites, according to Mirasol Springs’s website.
An exact address for the Hill Country Field Station has not yet been announced as the project is still in its early stages, said Christine Sinatra, director of communications for the UT College of Natural Sciences.
The 340-acre site was funded in part by the Winn Family Foundation, which donated over $50 million to the site, as well as by $150 million in additional university donations and funding. The Winn Family donation is the largest in the university’s history and will support a network of field stations across Texas, Sinatra said.
UT has six field stations, or areas across the state that are used for research across disciplines, educational outreach, environmental study and experiences for students.
“Biological field station research allows us to study changes over time in the unique ecosystems in Texas, as well as study species and their interactions with the environment,” said David Hillis, director of the biodiversity center at UT. “These investigations allow us to build knowledge that’s essential for conservation, restoration and management.”
Construction on the station is expected to begin within the year with the goal of opening in the first half of 2026, Sinatra said.
For more information, visit www.fieldstations.utexas.edu.
