Developers outline Whiskey Springs resort, ask council to continue PID public hearing

Developers of Whiskey Springs presented a detailed vision for a mixed‑use resort and asked the City Council on June 10 to defer formal action while outstanding financing and infrastructure questions are resolved.

The proposal, introduced by project representatives, would build a championship 18‑hole golf course, a primary resort hotel on a plateau, two additional market‑rate hotels, about 368 single‑family lots and roughly 44 acres of commercial uses, while preserving more than 400 acres as open space. Developers said they plan to use reclaimed (effluent) water for outdoor irrigation and to avoid using potable water for landscaping.

Why it matters: The project would add large‑scale commercial, hospitality and residential development on a site developers described as singular in Hill Country and could require large public infrastructure investments. The developer team is proposing a Public Improvement District (PID) to finance a portion of public infrastructure; council members and staff emphasized that formation of a PID is a multi‑step statutory process that precedes any city commitment.

Developers emphasized the site’s topography and tourist access as drivers for the project. "This is the place," said Jim Boyden, a member of the development team, describing why the team selected the site. Boyden outlined the project program and the team’s emphasis on conservation and high‑end hospitality and retail. Dale Beto, who described his decades of experience in golf‑course development, said the property’s natural features offer a rare opportunity for a high‑quality course.

Patrick Bourne, the developer’s PID consultant, explained how PID financing typically works for home buyers: assessments run with the land, are disclosed at contract and closing, and can be prepaid without penalty. "Every home buyer when they move into or purchase a home within a public improvement district is disclosed both at the time of contract and at the time of closing what that payment will be for the term of the PID," Bourne said.

City staff cautioned that the public infrastructure estimate is preliminary and will be refined. City staff discussed ballpark figures presented during the meeting, noting different estimates presented during negotiations: an earlier estimate that combined improvements and capitalized bond costs was discussed alongside higher, more conservative overall totals. Staff said the package of roads, water, sewer, landscaping, soft and hard costs will be refined in a preliminary service and assessment plan and in the development agreement that remains under negotiation.

The public hearing required by statute was opened, public speakers including nearby residents and local business representatives offered questions and general support, and the council voted to adjourn the public hearing to a later meeting so the development agreement and refined cost estimates can be completed. Council members and staff repeatedly said the PID formation and any financing decisions will return to council for further public hearings and formal findings.

What to watch next: Council staff said they expect to return with a finalized development agreement, a preliminary service and assessment plan, and a formal resolution setting a PID schedule at a future meeting (staff suggested a likely follow‑up in July or August). The developers and staff also said the size and timing of a secondary storage pond for reuse water remain under study and will affect the overall infrastructure scope and assessment calculations.