Construction underway for massive New Braunfels development that will transform the city

There will be construction equipment in every direction, and then homes and shopping complexes where open land once stood.

This isn’t your parents’ New Braunfels.

A nearly 2,000-acre construction project in Hill Country got underway Tuesday along a rural stretch of Interstate 35. Situated just outside of New Braunfels, the 6,000-residential unit project by SouthStar Communities will likely be completed in 2037.

Dubbed Mayfair, the massive community split by I-35 will include a mix of single-family homes, duplexes, townhouses and apartment complexes. Mayfair will also have 70 acres of commercial development, 120 acres of mixed-use space and over 300 acres of public parks.

The project is expected to also be home to two new elementary schools, one middle school and one high school.

Mayfair will connect the east and west sides of I-35 with an underpass under a re-constructed section of the roadway between Watson Lane and Kohlenberg. Mayfair will also provide utilities through a water improvement district, which will partially fund infrastructure on its 1,900 acres.

In 2020, city leaders began discussions with SouthStar to negotiate an agreement that would outline the roles and responsibilities of both parties. That agreement also created a plan for how New Braunfels would review and grant approval to new developments within Mayfair’s property boundaries.

New Braunfels Mayor Rusty Brockman said that SouthStar collaborated with the city and its utilities division for over a year and hosted several public listening sessions.

According to the developer, 750 single-family homes of varied sizes have already been contracted to regional and national builders, and parcels have been committed for apartments, cluster homes and build-to-rent homes, exemplifying the housing mix that Mayfair will offer.

In March, the city of New Braunfels approved the first phase of the project. That phase encompasses about 387 acres and includes 1,532 homes, a school, a recreational center and 99 acres of public parks.

Initial homes are anticipated to be available in the summer of 2023.

Read more at: https://www.expressnews.com/hill-country/article/Construction-underway-for-massive-New-Braunfels-17083256.php