AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, March 22, 2007

Ten years ago, Bill Hinckley said, he had a reputation in the development world and elsewhere as a man who would of lost his mind. After all, the Houston-raised developer had picked the one city Leander that most developers were passing up at the time.

Leander had little to no water, and its utility services were at a standstill, he said.

But Hinckley had a plan to put large custom homes in the rough and rolling terrain of the western part of Williamson County, a switch from the small starter homes for which he said the sleepy, rural town was known.

It did not look like a smart bet a decade ago, said Hinckley, 51. But Leander was sort of the sweet spot of where we anticipated the growth.

Sure enough, it came. Today, he and his business partner, David K. Gibbs, are owners of the biggest and, some say, the most desired residential development in the city.

Their company, Lookout Partners LP, has been quietly building a 5,000-acre real estate empire that has boosted Leanders tax base, received praise from some city officials and peppered the former ranch land with homes that cost $300,000 to $1 million.

With the purchase of a 975-acre tract four months ago, Hinckley said, he got the last piece of the citys largest master-planned community, called Crystal Falls, which will mix homes with schools, parks, stores and other commercial developments.

Most city officials are on the bandwagon, although a few residents are concerned that high-end homes, like some of those in Hinckleys developments, could limit housing options for lower-income residents.

I have always felt there is room for every style of house out here. But I think there are some people or another that feel that that is the only style of home that should be here, Frank Stiles, a veterinarian and former member of the citys planning and zoning commission.

Stiles said he is afraid that more high-end homes, such as the ones in the Grand Mesa subdivision, which is part of the Crystal Falls project, could squeeze out middle-class families.

But Hinckley and some city officials said that is not the intention of the development. Hinckley said that although there are no starter homes in the plan, the price of some homes will be in the low $200,000 range.

The character of this area is really going to stay the same, he said.

So far, Leander residents are not the ones moving into the homes, though. Hinckley said probably 98 percent of the residents in the master-planned subdivisions, such as Grand Mesa, the Boulders and the recently started Highlands, are from outside of the city.

About half the new residents are from Austin, a quarter are from the West Coast and the final quarter are from elsewhere in the country, he said.

Leander is a relative newcomer to growth and major commercial and residential developments, compared with Cedar Park and Round Rock. Those cities have big shopping centers and some major employers, such as Dell Inc. in Round Rock, that have helped bolster city revenue.

City officials say develop- ments from Hinckley and Gibbs have added a chunk of change to Leanders tax base, which has not been as strong as some other Williamson cities.

City officials said they would like to see commercial development on Hinckleys projects to help add to the citys tax base.

He is our number one developer, said Kirk Clennan, Leanders economic development director. He is added more taxable value to the (tax) rolls than anything else thats happened in the city in the last 10 years.

By the time that Hinckleys buildout ends, in the next 10 to 12 years, he plans to have 10,000 to 13,000 homes, mixed with town centers and some commercial developments, he said.

With new roads such as the 183-A tollway and the citys first major grocery store, an H-E-B Plus, Leander is able to provide more amenities than before and attract more people and businesses, Hinckley said.

Leander, it is not out in the boonies anymore, he said.

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