There’s something about the terrain in Central Texas that resonates in two ways at once. Hill Country vistas are evocative of something timeless and also a symbol of something new and unspoiled. You can feel it when you drive out from Austin, as the landscape starts to change—the steep canyons, the springs, the post oak and juniper. Perhaps that’s why it’s become such a sought-after destination as Central Texas’s real estate star rises.
Just a few miles beyond Austin in the Hill Country lies Loraloma. This private community is something new for this part of Texas, where the population has grown by 50 percent in the last twenty years and even more growth is expected in the next fifteen. Loraloma translates to “lore of the hills,” a fitting moniker for this hill-perched community nestled where the Pedernales meets the Colorado River. Within the master-planned, 2,250-acre Thomas Ranch, straddling Travis and Burnet County, Loraloma is designed to naturally integrate itself into the breathtaking scenery that surrounds it. Beauty like this needs to be seen to truly understand it. Be sure to schedule a tour to see this one-of-a-kind development for yourself.
When you tour the property, you’ll see the scope and vision of Loraloma. This vision has much to do with the team behind Loraloma. Areté Collective is a vertically integrated team with decades of experience in creating some of the most iconic and talked about luxury residential communities on the planet. In their extensive portfolio of luxurious developments, they have a proven track record of approaching each project with design front of mind, something the amenities and aesthetics of Loraloma demonstrate in every vantage.
View Loraloma at Thomas Ranch’s Storybook for more details.
Golf So Great They’re Inventing New Words
We can’t talk about Loraloma’s attention to design without mentioning the highly anticipated golf course the entire development centers around. The course, designed by David McLay-Kidd, is already posited in the pages of Golf Magazine as perhaps the most “amenitized” club in the country, even as the writer of those words admits you won’t find “amenitize” in a dictionary. If the magazine of record on golf uses invented words to describe a course, you know it’s something worthy of note. Scottish architect McLay-Kidd is the renowned designer behind some of the world’s most celebrated golf courses, including the “Castle Course” at St. Andrew’s Links. At the Loraloma golf course, he’s created a course that winds around the cliffs of the Pedernales River.
The course is under construction now and is currently available for touring. When you schedule a tour, you’ll see on your trip around the links that the course demonstrates and embraces the unique landscape of the Hill Country from every tee. Limited play is expected as soon as late 2024. In addition to the 18-hole course, it will include a golf house, a community clubhouse, a spa, meditation and wellness studios, and a Riverfront Park with water-based activities.
Beyond the greens, Loraloma’s true dedication to both design and to the demonstration of the Hill Country’s natural beauty becomes clear. Of the community’s 2,250 acres, more than half will be preserved as open space. This will include more than forty miles of biking and hiking trails and two miles of unchanged riverfront.
Where Amenities and Culture Overlap
The culture of food and music in Austin is world-famous, and much of that rich culture originates in the Hill Country. It’s unextractable from the dramatic landscapes, and the way of life that’s developed there as different cultures have left their marks on the land. All of that culture, history, and love for the land come together in the amenities at Loraloma’s Limestone Gulch. The centerpiece of Limestone Gulch is its swimming hole. The swimming hole is the quintessential symbol of community in the Hill Country, a respite from the summer heat where families and friends traditionally gathered to relax and recharge. Limestone Gulch will be impeccably maintained, never ebbing to low levels, and accessible only by members.
Another beloved Hill Country tradition is the dance hall, typically a spot where the community would gather to celebrate and revel together and enjoy the music these social hubs revolved around. At Limestone Gulch, the music hall will evoke classic dance halls like Gruene Hall, Floore’s Country Store, and the Broken Spoke, while still adhering to elegant principles of design, pairing the best of local culture with modern luxury.
Other amenities will include a tap room, outdoor amphitheater, and a sports complex. Its on-site equestrian facility, boating opportunities including river access to Lake Travis from the Pedernales River, and a Fieldhouse activity center all distinguish Loraloma’s extensive amenity offerings from most other private communities in the area.
Luxury as Singular as Landscape
At the end of the day, after enjoying everything Loraloma has to offer recreationally, it’s amazing to realize that this luxurious environment is where you’ll be living. Areté Collective’s dedication to keeping much of the acreage open guarantees each homesite has protected views. No matter the homesite, the natural beauty of the Hill Country is on full display.
“The architects and land planners of Areté are delivering timeless, ecologically sensitive designs that celebrate the natural beauty of their surroundings and channel the cultural allure of Austin,” said Rebecca Buchan, Co-Founder & CEO of Areté Collective. The collective’s “ecological modernism” design style informs the unified aesthetic across the master-planned community. This thoughtful approach to all aspects of the design keeps the natural gifts of the area synchronized with the multitude of commercial offerings at Thomas Ranch, such as a downtown with over 250 thousand square feet of retail, as well as medical services and schools.
Pricing begins at $885,000 for a homesite, and include three, four and five-bedroom floorplans. For more information on Thomas Ranch or Loraloma, please visit thomasranchtx.com or loralomaclub.com respectively. For sales inquiries, please contact 512.262.4642 or sales@loralomaclub.com.
