$160 million village will mimic Tuscan countryside in style
By M.B. Taboada
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
statesman.com article
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Bee Cave will be getting a taste of Tuscany.
A Tennessee developer is scheduled to break ground in August on Cielo, a $160 million residential development with 400 luxury flats, condominiums and townhomes.
Cielo, which means heaven or sky in Spanish, will be nestled in rolling hills and surrounded by the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve, which provides habitat for endangered plant and animal species, including the golden-cheeked warbler.
Franklin, Tenn.-based Southern Land Co. hopes to emulate a Tuscan hillside village near RM 620 and Texas 71. The Hill Country views were the inspiration for the 78-acre project, which will have about 28 acres reserved for green space.
"Because of the views you have out in the Hill Country, looking across the horizon, it's hard to determine where the sky stops and the earth begins," said Jim Cheney, communications director for Southern Land Co.
The project will have a Mediterranean flair with such architectural distinctions as arched windows, balconies with wrought-iron work and cornice finishes.
The development, scheduled for completion in 2013, will include more than 20 floor plans for the one- and two-bedroom homes. Homes will start in the upper $300,000s.
Residents will be offered a variety of amenities including private garages and balconies, a club house and a saltwater pool. The project also will have a fitness center and coffee bar. The project is targeting baby boomers, and the developers envision an active community, Cheney said.
Southern Land Co., founded 20 years ago in Chattanooga, expanded to Texas last year. They have opened offices for residential communities being built in the Dallas area. Cielo is the first Central Texas project for the company.
Bee Cave's proximity to Austin and its retail boom, including the Hill Country Galleria that will open in September, make the area ideal for this type of project, Cheney said.
The Galleria, which will have retailers such as Ann Taylor, American Eagle Outfitters, Banana Republic and New York & Company, is expected to become the new town center for Bee Cave. It will feature a 1.3-million-square-foot lifestyle center, which includes a 30,000-square-foot City Hall, as well as an amphitheater and multifamily housing.
"The area is very ripe for growth," Cheney said.
Cheney said the condo and townhome development will work with the region's natural landscape. "We specialize in being regionally sensitive in the plant materials we're going to put in," he said.