Goodwater

New Small Town Near Georgetown, Texas

The magnificent natural beauty and development potential of a pristine parcel of ranch land called Goodwater, has impressed all of us involved in the project so much that our approach from the beginning has been one of respect and appreciation. The land itself has in fact, set standards for the level of quality of everything we do on it, and we have tried to live up to those in laying out our vision and in our planning and design efforts.

We envision a beautiful, self-sustaining, walkable, pedestrian friendly, inter-generational, fully functioning authentic community environment - a small town - with all the ingredients of what makes a great place to live. The primary stroke on the land is the creation of a 40-acre lake with a 40-acre green belt around it. Four human-scale neighborhoods (1/2 mile across), with a variety of housing types in each, are nestled between the surrounding roads and the central open space of the community. All three of the neighborhood centers as well as the town center are positioned on the lake and are designed with differing degrees of urbanity.

In addition to the green belt surrounding the lake, there are numerous smaller parks and greens sprinkled throughout the neighborhoods, generally accompanying higher densities, providing places for recreation.

The area immediately adjacent to SH 195 is primarily reserved for major mixed-use structures including retail, offices, and lofts. The greatest development density is projected for the southwest corner of the project – at the intersection of SH 195 and CR 143 – where the town center is to be located. Both are intended to attract employers to the project, thereby accommodating one of the most important elements of a fully functioning community – work – within walking distance of most of the planned neighborhoods. Live-work units are planned for areas adjacent to neighborhood centers and the town center, and are critical in contributing to the diversity of the community and to furthering the opportunity to live, work, and play here.

Every effort is being made in the planning and platting processes to save the existing trees in their current locations. Trees that are movable that exist in areas that requires them to be relocated, are being placed in a temporary on-site nursery to be replanted again. Areas with large clumps of great oak tress that happen to fall into the proposed lake area will be planned as penninsula or made into islands. Lot platting and street design is being executed with tree protection and preservation in mind. All of the tree transplanting and preservation activities are being directed and overseen by a registered horticulturalist.

A network of streets and alleys of varying widths are designed to serve the project. All lots will front on open spaces, parks or streets. None of the streets in the community are planned to be private and no lots are being planned to "back up" to the central green belt. Scale appropriate sidewalks, street trees, and streetlights are proposed for every street, contributing to the walk-ability of the community.

Six primary architectural styles are identified as appropriate as historically present in the area. Developing an architectural pattern book has been an integral part of the planning effort.

The lake system planned for Adkins Ranch was designed to follow the natural drainage courses that existed on the property prior to any development activities occurring. In addition to providing for the natural runoff from the site, the lake system will also function as a detention and water quality network ensuring that all waters leaving the site are treated and released at a rate no greater than in undeveloped conditions.

The geology of the site made possible a process almost unprecedented in modern development scenarios, that of processing material from the site and utilizing those materials in the development of the tract. As bays of the lake are sculpted in the underlying bedrock, the byproduct is processed on-site yielding all of the aggregate materials necessary for the development of the site. Topsoil is screened to remove rocks and other debris and stored on-site in berms that can accommodate the temporary placement of trees, which wherever possible, are being transplanted and relocated on site. Fractured rock found in the first twenty feet of depth is crushed and screened-to-be-used in various construction processes. Quarry rock, typically found at depths greater than twenty feet is extracted, later to be chopped and utilized in building facades throughout the community.