Structure first of its kind within community — Sets sustainable design standards for real estate development 

Skywater Over Horseshoe Bay, listed by Skywater Realty - A DMB Realty Company, recently opened The Stone House, the community’s real estate sales office and its first step toward becoming the only project of its scope and size in the country with such a comprehensive level of sustainable design. The Stone House was designed by Tim Blonkvist of San Antonio-based Overland Partners in collaboration with Skywater owners and developing partners, Armand Biglari and David Gersten.

Skywater Over Horseshoe Bay will employ Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) initiatives throughout the entire development, from the master plan to the individual public buildings. The Stone House is the first of these structures to be completed and has set the standard to which all other Skywater Over Horseshoe Bay structures will be held.

Developed by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), The LEED Green Building Rating System is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green building master planned communities. Certification is based on a scoring system of performance in sustainable site development; water savings; energy efficiency; materials selection; and indoor environmental quality. Applicants receive points for each aspect of compliance, with totals denoting a level of certification. These levels are certified, silver, gold and platinum.

The Stone House is LEED-registered and poised to be either gold or platinum certified, which will make it one of only a few buildings in the United States to achieve this level of sustainability. Highly innovative techniques will prove to produce the lowest amount of emissions and limit the amount of refuse emitted during the building phase and beyond, all while remaining one of the most energy and water efficient buildings in Texas. Examples include:

• Use of building materials obtained within a 150 mile radius of the structure, cutting down on transportation and the resulting emissions. These include stone, lumber, lighting and all landscaping.
• In an effort to cut down on waste, the Stone House was designed for adaptation. Currently the sales office, the Stone House at Skywater Over Horseshoe Bay will eventually become Skywater’s private club.
• The roof of The Stone House was constructed as a water catchment system that drains into a 160-gallon cistern. Water obtained from the cistern will be used to care for an on-site organic garden, all landscaping and to flush toilets. The garden will be used to supply food for community gatherings.
• Indoor and outdoor spaces offer residents and visitors ample opportunity to meet, greet and develop lasting relationships.

While the technical features of the structure are impressive, designers of The Stone House at Skywater Over Horseshoe Bay also wanted to ensure that the building offers something tangible back to the community. With that in mind, and wanting to extend the idea of sustainability beyond nature and into relationships, designers have developed an education and resource center within The Stone House. This extensive library will be open to the public and will offer numerous materials on green building master planned communities and living, hopefully encouraging others to employ some of the same initiatives.

About the Skywater Development

Skywater Over Horseshoe Bay is a new community in the Texas Hill Country, just 45 minutes west of Austin. At 1,600 acres, it represents the last large-acreage custom home community in the Horseshoe Bay area and at build-out will have 1,000 homesites, custom homes and villas. The community offers residents 7 miles of hiking and biking trails, tennis courts, private neighborhood pools and gardens, and lush Hill Country landscape as well as a new Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course and Clubhouse.

In addition, extensive amenities are available at the neighboring Horseshoe Bay Resort, one of the most highly-sought-after Texas vacation destinations. All residents of Skywater will have the opportunity to become members at the highest level of the resort, which boasts three championship Trent Jones Sr. golf courses, two clubhouses, a private jet center, fitness center and spa, Yacht Club with white sand beaches, resort-style pools and full-service marina. Skywater residents will have the standard resort initiation fee waived, a value of $75,000.

For more information on Skywater, visit www.skywatertexas.com or call 830.596.7600.

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