Eco-development Whisper Valley featured on ‘This Old House’

Whisper Valley, the appropriately named sustainable subdivision that has been quietly developing just east of Austin, is making more noise these days. The $2 billion eco-development—an innovative, large-scale sustainable community with net-zero energy potential—recently received a visit from the host (and crew) of beloved PBS home show This Old House, which profiled the ambitious project for its “Future House” series.

In the segment, host Ross Tretheway looks around the completed first phase of Whisper Valley and interviews Axel Lerche, CEO of EcoSmart Solution, the subsidiary of Taurus Investment Holdings that is developing the project, about the many things that set the subdivision apart. Those things include homes here produce as much energy as they consume by using solar panels and geothermal heat pumps (there is an innovative geothermal loop that runs through the development), a custom organic farming and home food delivery program, and fairly affordable housing, with homes that run from the low $200,000s to the $400,000 range. The 2,062-acre mixed-use development includes planned residential neighborhoods, retail, neighborhood services, restaurants, and commercial buildings. Long-term plans include two school sites, a transportation hub, and a fire station.

The Whisper Valley episode of This Old House/Future House began running nationally on PBS on Thursday and will make air in Austin on local PBS station KLRU this Sunday, June 3, at 5 p.m. and on Direct TV Channel at 2 p.m.