Rosa Lavender, Hill Country Community Journal, 12 April 2023

Kerrville will soon see construction begin on a new multi-family development on Texas 16 south between Royal Oaks and Hosanna Lutheran Church on Camp Meeting Road. The main entrance to the development will be off Medina Hwy. between the two existing developments.

RREAF Holdings, who are based in Dallas, has been in the business of developing multi-family projects in Texas for the past 15 years, according to Carl Schwab, president of development services.

“The Texas real estate market is so healthy. The investment market seeks to mitigate risk. Kerrville is a healthy market and is attracting so much investment,” Schwab said.

The property has already been annexed by the City of Kerrville so will have all city utilities. The initial phase of the development on 12.9 acres of the total of 204 acres will be known as Creekside Crossing Apartments and will include 262 separate apartment units. Half of the units will be one bedroom, 116 will be two-bedroom and 16 will have three bedrooms, according to Schwab.

“The apartments will be three-story and there will be 52 units with garages for those who want secure parking and are willing to pay an additional cost,” Schwab added.

This will be the second development by RREAF Holdings in Kerrville, the first being Sendero Ridge Apartments on Singing Wind Dr. at Loop 534. There are still another 38 acres available to add to the Sendero Ridge development in the future.

Schwab said after the first phase of Creekside Crossing starts to stabilize, typically 90 percent occupancy, they are contemplating developing the rest of the property into five to seven-acre estate sized lots on the back part of the property.

“We may get more aggressive if things move faster. We are constantly looking for opportunities for other developments. Currently we have construction projects in progress in Temple and Salado and another project pending in Belton,” Schwab said. He added that the development company is also searching for opportunities in the Fredericksburg area, but the need for existing infrastructure availability was important to any future developments.

Schwab said the cost of debt has increased (interest rates increasing) and is putting limitations on the real estate market plus the increased cost of construction materials is impacting decisions being made. “What cost $145 before COVID, now costs $175, so we have to be more selective of the markets,” he added.

“We love Kerrville. We want to bring a product to the community that is geared to younger folks, the 20 to 35-year olds, who are moving in to start a family or are just out of college and entering the job market. I am confident this will be the best garden-style product in the Kerrville community,” Schwab said.

The entrance to Creekside Crossing will be a divided entry and the road will include a 230-ft. span bridge within the development over Camp Meeting Creek. The bridge will be built to TxDot standards and will be dedicated to the city when completed.

“We are building the bridge to the 100-year floodplain standard, not the 10-year (low water crossing) standard,” Schwab said. He said some of the floodplain along the creek will be reclaimed to make the property more buildable. A hydrology study was done on the creek which Schwab described as the “best in the state.”

A local engineering firm, Wellborn Engineering, is working with the developer on the project.

Schwab said they are planning to use local contractors on the apartment development, as much as possible, but they are aware of the labor shortage in Kerrville and will likely send in company construction managers for the project.

The price range for the apartments will be comparable to the Sendero Ridge development and there will be no subsidized housing available in the development.

“We are grateful to have the opportunity to be in Kerrville. It’s a wonderful place to raise a family and is comfortably distanced from the hustle and bustle of both San Antonio and Austin,” Schwab added.

This article originally appeared on Hill Country Community Journal