Developer plans 900 single-family homes in Round Rock over 10 years

A developer is designing a neighborhood of 900 single-family homes to be built over the next decade in a new municipal district in northeastern Round Rock.

The houses, ranging in price from the high $400,000's to the low $500,000's, will be on a 230-acre tract southwest of the intersection of Westinghouse Road and County Road 110, said Bill Peckman, the president of the Austin division of New Home Co.

The Round Rock City Council approved the annexation of the land to the city and the creation of Round Rock MUD #3 at a June 12 meeting. The homes will be built on 50-, 60- and 70-foot lots, Peckham said at the meeting. The developer is still required to submit a petition to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for final approval.

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Creating a municipal utility district provides a developer an alternate way to finance infrastructure such as water, sewer, drainage and roads. The developer takes out bonds for the improvements and homeowners pay the developer back through district taxes on their property. The future residents of Round Rock MUD #3 will pay district taxes as well as city of Round Rock property taxes, officials said.

"Residents will receive standard city services — police, fire, library access and infrastructure maintenance — while the developer funds roads and utilities through MUD-issued bonds repaid by future residents, not city taxpayers," Mayor Craig Morgan told the Statesman. "This approach has been successfully used in recent similarly sized projects like Salerno and Homestead at Old Settlers Park and allows us to better guide growth in this particular area along our city’s boundaries."

Morgan said the Salerno MUD is under construction on County Road 110 near the intersection with University Boulevard, and the Homestead project off of Kenny Fort Boulevard near Texas 79 has almost finished construction.

The total cost of MUD #3 is estimated to be $77.1 million, according to a petition that New Home Co. presented to the city.

The cost includes $18.4 million for roads and $57.6 million for the water, sewer, drainage and storm systems, the petition said. It also includes $991,875 for parks and recreational facilities that could include swimming pools, playgrounds and trails. Residents of the new municipal utility district will receive water from the city.

Construction is expected to start in the summer of 2026, said Megan Eltringham, the developer's senior vice president of marketing and design.

"New Home Co. is excited to be a part of the recently approved Municipal Utility District in Round Rock which will bring hundreds of new homes to this desirable town in the Austin metro market," Eltringham said in an email. "Round Rock has consistently ranked among the best places to live in both Texas and the United States. Its ongoing growth, development, and convenient access to major employment centers make it an exceptional location."