Liberty Hill’s west side population poised for major growth with Butler Farms development

BY RACHEL MADISON STAFF WRITER

On the far west side of Liberty Hill, is a neighborhood that has been slowly growing from the ground up for the last few years.

Up until a few months ago, when the neighborhood’s ornate arched entrance was completed, it wasn’t very noticeable from State Highway 29, but now, it’s obvious that something big is coming.

The 366-acre neighborhood, named Butler Farms after the Butler family who ranched on the land for decades before selling it, is being developed by Hutto-based MA Partners, which also developed the Morningstar subdivision on the far east side of Liberty Hill.

“Our vision for Butler Farms is a master-planned community, similar to Morningstar,” said Wyatt Henderson of MA Partners. “It will be at just over 2,000 homes when it’s all said and done.”

The Butler Farms subdivision has been several years in the making, with the acreage initially being annexed into Liberty Hill city limits in mid-2018 along with the development agreement. So far, 227 homes have been built or are under construction in the neighborhood, according to the City of Liberty Hill’s planning department.

Water & Wastewater

As of April, City Planner Jerry Millard said 436 lots have been approved in Butler Farms; however, only up to 279 houses can be built due to water and wastewater limitations.

“Because of current water and wastewater availability, they can only go up to 279 homes,” Millard said. “The City is working on a wastewater line on County Road 214 as well as the expansion of the wastewater treatment plant from 2 million gallons per day to 4 million gallons per day. After those projects are done, we’ll be able to release the current homes in there from a pump and haul agreement.”

Water for Butler Farms will be provided by the City of Liberty Hill, but things are a bit more complicated, Millard said.

“Across the board, the City is still dealing with water issues and finding ways to get the water here,” he said. “Also, when we get to the west side of Liberty Hill, we have a lot more issues getting water because we have to go deeper, and if we get too deep, the water gets saltier and brackish. However, we are working on several capital improvement projects that will take care of a lot of concerns on the west side.”

Millard pointed to the recently approved South San Gabriel lift station as well as an interceptor line coming from RR 1869 as two projects that will make a big difference in the water and wastewater capabilities on the west side of Liberty Hill.

“I’m not sure when we’re going to break ground on that lift station, but once we do, it’ll take about 18 months to complete,” he said.

Henderson added that in order to alleviate some of the City of Liberty Hill’s burden when it comes to water, MA Partners will be drilling several wells as Butler Farms is developed. Water from those wells will be used as much as possible throughout the development, he said.

“We will drill our own wells and we will irrigate out of the wells for all the public landscaping and parks,” he said. “That’ll reduce the demand on the City of Liberty Hill’s water.”

Homes

The two builders currently constructing homes in Butler Farms are Meritage Homes and Saratoga Homes.

“Both Meritage and Saratoga have their first phases underway, which are around 200 lots each,” Henderson said. “For right now they are the two builders we have, but we do plan to add additional builders in the next phases.”

Meritage Homes will be priced from the mid-$300,000s and will range in size from 1,240 to 2,204 square feet. The floor plans will offer three to four bedrooms, two to two-and-a-half bathrooms, two-car garages and covered patios.

Saratoga Homes will be priced from the high $300,000s and will range in size from 1,660 to 2,940 square feet. The floor plans will offer three to five bedrooms, two to four bathrooms and two-car garages.

Amenities

Butler Farms will have a large amenity center for residents to use that will also include a parking lot and pool, Henderson said. The pool will have tanning shelves, a shaded swimming area, as well as a large lawn with an outdoor fire pit.

A stocked, catch-and-release fishing pond with a pier as well as acres of greenbelts, nature trails and parks will round out the subdivision’s offerings.

“We’ll also have pocket parks with playgrounds for kids of all ages around

Butler Farms will have a wide variety of amenities for its residents, including an amenity center, pool, playgrounds and trails. (Courtesy Graphic) the neighborhood,” Henderson said. “Some playgrounds will be geared toward younger kids and others will be geared toward older kids.”

School

MA Partners will be donating a school site for Liberty Hill Independent School District’s eighth elementary school.

“We are donating an elementary school site to the Liberty Hill Independent School District,” Henderson said. “We are working on that right now and will probably have the site donated to them by the end of 2023.”

Elementary #6, Bar W Elementary, will open in the fall and Elementary #7, which will be located in Santa Rita Ranch, will be under construction soon with an opening date of Fall 2024. Elementary #8 will follow those schools. The 2023 bond that recently passed includes funds for the design, site development and construction of Elementary #8.

According to the LHISD, the eventual growth on the west side of the City, thanks to subdivisions like Butler Farms, could bring in as many as three elementary schools and a middle school.

Future Development

While Butler Farms is currently a total of 366 acres, Henderson said in future phases of the development, MA Partners plans to add another 250 to 300 acres to the subdivision.

Millard added that the hold up right now on future phases is market related. Phases that are currently being worked on have been split into A and B sections because of the slowing. However, once the market picks back up, Millard anticipates that MA Partners will be seeking to annex more land into the city limits and begin developing more phases of the subdivision.

Henderson said there isn’t a set completion date for Butler Farms, as construction ebbs and flows with the market.

“There was a bit of a slow down last year and that slowed us down a bit, but now it appears the market is picking back up,” he said. “We always plan to deliver the lots in line with what the current market conditions are.”

Ultimately, Butler Farms is bringing major growth to Liberty Hill’s west side, and it’s most likely just the beginning.

“The west side of Liberty Hill is going to be completely different in the near future,” Millard said. “Butler Farms will be the majority of the development out there, but it just shows the City’s growth potential to the west.”