Government
BY KATY MCAFEE
This spring, Travis County acquired almost 2,000 acres of land in the Hill Country and will purchase several smaller parcels along the Eastern Crescent this year after residents voted in November to raise their tax bills to protect green space. The new land will be added to the county’s 27 parks, which span over 11,000 acres. The acquisitions will protect environmentally sensitive land from being turned into dense development, and parks foundation o cials hope the new 70-mile trail system will increase accessibility to nature to a historically underserved area. “Time and time again, Austin voters, in either Travis County elections or city of Austin elections, have voted overwhelmingly to fund these kinds of acquisitions,” said Je Francell, director of land protection for The Nature Conservancy. “They want to put their money where their mouth is, and they support it.” TravCo increases parks, trails
The details
The family received o ers to buy the ranch for over $130 million, but agreed to preserve it by selling it to the county for $90 million, marking the largest land value donation in Travis County history, o cials said. Travis County o cials plan on turning that 1,506-acre chunk into a new park named RGK after Ronya and George Kozmetsky. The park will be similar to Reimers Ranch, complete with hiking and biking trails, restrooms, and picnic areas. Travis County Commissioner Ann Howard said the acquisition happened just in time. “Development was eminent,” she said. “The families had many o ers to buy the land from as far away as Dubai.”
The rst tract the county acquired spans 475 acres directly adjacent to Reimers Ranch Park. The land will become an extension of the park with trails, picnic areas and other amenities. The tract was appraised at $45 million and slated for a 950-home development, but the Topfer family that owns the land agreed to sell it to the county instead in late April for $5 million less, saving it from development, Travis County Parks Director Charles Bergh said. The second parcel, located just east of Reimers Ranch, spans 1,506 acres and was slated for 1,500 homes, Bergh said. The land was originally purchased in 1970 by Ronya and George Kozmetsky as a family ranch with rolling hills, canyons and vistas. The ranch was later inherited by their daughter, Nadya Scott.
Spicewood
Expanding parkland Travis County is adding two large tracts of land to its park system. Castletop spans 475 acres and will be added to Reimers Ranch. RGK spans 1,506 acres and will be a new park similar to Reimers.
BEE CREEK RD.
CYPRESS RANCH BLVD.
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Project snapshot $276.44 million
RGK 1,506 acres
Castletop 475 acres
investment in Travis County parks
Reimers Ranch Park Conservation easements Acquired land
STAGECOACH RANCH RD.
1,980 acres in the Hill Country
70 new trail miles along the Eastern Crescent
Dripping Springs
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SOURCE: TRAVIS COUNTY PARKS FOUNDATION COMMUNITY IMPACT
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MAP NOT TO SCALE
What’s next
"Protected lands stay protected forever. This is an investment in the future, being able to have
County o cials will begin planning RGK’s trails and amenities over the next year while also o ering guided tours of the land’s rolling hills and wildlife. O cials hope the park will be open to the public by the end of 2025. In the coming years, the foundation may acquire the remaining land between Castletop and RGK Park, preserving more than 4,000 acres of combined space in the Hill Country.
Alongside parkland, Travis County o cials have been slowly acquiring land in the eastern metro area for a 70-mile trail system, which crews will break ground on within the next year and a half, starting near Onion Creek to McKinney Falls. County o cials do not have an estimate for when the entire trail system will be nished, as it will likely take more bond cycles of funding to complete.
access to these places, which is really exciting." JOANNA WOLAVER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE TRAVIS COUNTY PARKS FOUNDATION
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