The owner and pitmaster of iconic Central Texas barbecue restaurant Salt Lick BBQ, Scott Roberts, has announced plans to develop his Dripping Springs property, where the restaurant is located. The 540-acre Driftwood Development community will include 215 acres of open space along two miles of Onion Creek frontage, 80 acres of vineyards, spread-out single-family homes, a boutique lodge and spa, a winery, nine miles of hike-and-bike trails, and a commercial center with restaurants and retail.
Roberts’ representatives noted that his family has a century-plus of history on the Hill Country land, a little less than 30 miles southwest of downtown Austin, and he wants to ensure Driftwood will enforce sustainable standards to help preserve the land for future generations. Guidelines include a 25-foot vegetative buffer along the perimeter of all lots, LEED compliant building, no boundary fencing, adoption of Dark Skies standards (which aim to keep artificial atmospheric light at a minimum at nighttime), and rainwater-capture measures. There will be a high fence around the vineyards to keep out wildlife, but it will have plenty of room to roam in the rest of the area, said Roberts’ representative.
Individual homeowners will be required to comply with Driftwood Development’s environmental and building standards, but the development will leave them to create their homes’ designs within those standards, working with architects, engineers, and builders of their own choosing.
In addition to Roberts, the development team includes operations partner Silver Garza, land planner Done Bosse, and Cash Construction, which is in charge of building infrastructure. Award-winning San Antonio-Austin architecture firm Lake Flato will design of the hotel, spa, and winery, which will be run by a yet-to-be-chosen boutique hotel group.