The strongest opposition to Mirasol Springs has come from Lew Adams.
Photographer: Jordan Vonderhaar/BloombergA Billionaire’s Luxury Development Fuels Fight Over Texas Hill Country
As Austin’s economic boom spurs development, environmentalists are working to protect the rugged landscape from projects like Steve Winn’s Mirasol Springs resort.
A billionaire seeking to build a resort with luxury homes in the Texas Hill Country is facing off against neighbors opposed to development on environmental grounds, highlighting the growing tensions as the region’s economic surge fuels a boom outside Austin.
Steve Winn, who made his fortune as the founder of a property-management platform called RealPage Inc., says the 1,400 acres he’s dubbed Mirasol Springs will be a model for conscientious development. Sewage will be processed on site to be used in irrigation, and all the buildings will have cisterns to catch rainwater. No fertilizers or pesticides will be allowed, and more than two-thirds of the land will be put into a conservation easement.