Planned community mapped out for Schertz

A developer will break ground next month on The Crossvine, a 504-acre community in Schertz that will be that city's first master-planned community.

The Crossvine, near FM 1518 and Lower Seguin Road, will have a mix of single-family homes, commercial sites and 12 miles of hike and bike trails, and will be built out over a 10-year period. The first lots will be available to home builders in the spring.

Chris Price, president of Schertz 1518 Ltd., the development's owners, said by email that the company was drawn to the location because areas closest to Interstate 35 are getting saturated with development.

The Crossvine will be closer to Interstate 10 than to I-35, the corridor that most people associate with Schertz. But it's still in the popular Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City School District.

“We noticed a submarket that had not being addressed in the Schertz market: people who were looking for high-quality, mixed-use, master-planned communities,” he said.

The development started in 2006 as Sedona Trails, with about 170 lots developed, but was hit hard by the financial crisis. Schertz 1518 Ltd. acquired the property more than a year ago and started working with city officials to redo the neighborhood's planned design.

Schertz City Manager John Kessel said the idea was to create a model community that will have healthy elements such as walking trails. City officials also liked the idea of working with a developer who would bring in a variety of builders.

“In recent years we're seeing a trend where you have large national builders who act as both the developer and the builder,” Kessel said. “We're seeing a return to the traditional model with this project. It's less of the mass-produced product. Now you can have two and three builders in the same neighborhood. It creates variety and accountability. The variety you get translates into a more interesting neighborhood. It's an organic development. Over time, it's a unique look.”

David Gwin, executive director of the Schertz Economic Development Corp., said the city created a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone for the neighborhood.

In a TIRZ, the taxes on any increase in property values are set aside to finance public improvements such as streets and sidewalks in that area. Home prices will start in the mid- to high-$200,000s.

“We anticipate that shortly after the New Year, you'll be able to tour the model home community,” Gwin said.

The San Antonio area has some large master-planned communities, including Westover Hills, Alamo Ranch and Stone Oak. But large master-planned neighborhoods have been more common in the Houston and Dallas areas, said James Gaines, research economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.

“The volume has got to be there to create sales volume on an annual basis,” Gaines said. “They're difficult projects to do. Many are super successful in terms of the amenities and aesthetics. Generally it takes very deep-pocket investors.”

And because it takes 10 to 20 years or more to build out most master-planned communities, timing is everything.

“You need to be lucky on the timing,” Gaines said. “You can get hit in market cycles that you can't do anything about.”

Kessel thinks that The Crossvine should open at a good time, though, as the housing market is improving and San Antonio continues to push into suburbs.

“Folks look at this market as one where that they can be in downtown in 20 minutes,” he said.