Posted: Sat, 12 Feb 2011 11:22 AM - 11,722 Readers
By: Michele Chan Santos
When Barbara Bethel chose to move to Central Texas from her longtime home of McKinney, just north of Dallas she selected the 55-and-older community of Tuscan Village in Lakeway to be her new neighborhood.
Bethel was widowed last year. Her son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren live near Lake Travis. They told her, "Mom, you need to come down here and be closer to us," she says.
On Dec. 16, Bethel moved into a just-completed two-bedroom, two-bathroom villa. She says she loves that she has no yard to take care of — all the landscaping and exterior maintenance are handled by Tuscan Village — and that she feels so safe. She was a high school counselor for 34 years and is now retired.
Her new house has high ceilings, a sparkling kitchen with a large walk-in pantry and picture windows with plantation shutters. Bethel already has made a lot of new friends, introduced to her by her daughter-in-law's parents, Sherie and Bert Braun, who live in Lakeway, too.
"I love it here, the people are all so warm and friendly," Bethel says. "It was time for a new adventure."
Tuscan Village, located at 1930 Lohmans Crossing Road in Lakeway, sits on 42 acres. Legend Communities, the same company that created the Rough Hollow neighborhood nearby, is building Tuscan Village. So far, eight town houses (in buildings with three to five residences) and two villas (freestanding homes) have been sold. Eventually, there will be 104 villas and 66 town houses, says Jim Lavender, development manager for Legend Communities.
At least one of the residents at each property must be 55 or older. The buyer can be any age (for example, some town houses have been purchased by adult children for their retired parents).
The location — just off RM 620, near golf courses, the lake, grocery stores and shopping — is an attraction for many buyers. Lakeway Regional Medical Center, the city's new hospital, is under construction less than five minutes from Tuscan Village.
The neighborhood the developers aimed to create has "an active adult lifestyle," says Haythem Dawlett, general partner of Legend Communities. "It's a club concept, where there will be a whole curriculum of activities. We want to create peer groups, a social atmosphere."
Kimberly and Roger Gaillardetz were the very first residents to move into Tuscan Village. They used to live in Northwest Austin in a home with many flights of stairs.
Roger says they chose Tuscan Village because the couple thought "we should move to a place that will accommodate us, whatever happens," he says. They wanted to move while they were still active and easily could make friends, he says.
The Gaillardetzes have quickly settled into life in Lakeway, frequently golfing at Flintrock Falls or The Hills golf courses. They purchased a golf membership to The Hills Country Club and frequently attend events there. Like all Tuscan Village residents, they automatically received a membership to Rough Hollow Yacht Club and Marina in Lakeway, and can use the fitness center or pool there.
Roger Gaillardetz retired after 23 years in the Air Force and worked as a computer programmer. Kim Gaillardetz was a senior manager of South Austin Medical Center for many years and is retired. Their new villa has 12-foot ceilings, a view of the greenbelt behind their house, hardwood floors and a spacious master bedroom with its own sitting area.
The proximity of the future hospital was an attraction for the Gaillardetzes, as was the nearness of an assisted-living facility.
"If something were to happen to one of us, the other could visit with ease," Roger Gaillardetz says.
Right now, a bustle of construction activity is all that can be seen of Tuscan Village's future amenities. But by the end of 2011, Dawlett says, the pool and locker rooms will be open; the rest of the community center and clubhouse will be completed in 2012 or 2013, he says.
What Dawlett envisions — and what potential buyers can see in many artistic renderings in the sales office — is a center that functions as the heart of the neighborhood, with a bistro, yoga classes, spa offerings, music performances and educational lectures.
A new, 11,000-square-foot public library will be located next to Tuscan Village. Legend Communities is donating 1.5 acres for the future site of the Lake Travis Community Library. Morgan McMillian, library director, expects to break ground this summer, and the new library will open in 2012. The Lake Travis Community Library will move from its current location on 2300 Lohmans Spur to the donated site, she says. Any resident of Texas can get a library card for the Lake Travis Community Library, she says.
A wide range of prices and floor plans is available at Tuscan Village, says Kay Hogge, sales executive of Tuscan Village. The one-story town houses range from $236,550 to $322,050 and from 1,294 to 1,790 square feet. One-story villas range from $348,650 to $502,550, and from 1,663 to 2,494 square feet. Two-story villas go from $398,650 to $569,050 and from 2,318 to 3,219 square feet.
A deliberate part of the architectural design at Tuscan Village is the absence of stairs. In the one-story town houses and villas, there are no stairs anywhere, not even one or two between the house and the patio. This lack of stairs, in addition to wide doorways, makes the properties very easily managed by someone in a wheelchair or using a walker. The two-story villas have stairs, but with an option for an elevator.
The overall neighborhood is also designed this way; residents will be able to walk from their homes to the community center without navigating any steps.
Homeowners association fees are $325 a month for town house owners and $235 a month for villa owners. This fee covers front and backyard lawn maintenance, landscape replacement, maintenance of common areas, clubhouse and pool amenities and membership at Rough Hollow Yacht Club. For town houses, the fee also includes insurance that covers the entire property except the homeowner's possessions.
Environmentally friendly features of the town houses and villas include dual-pane, low-E windows, radiant barriers in the attic, 16-SEER air-conditioning systems and, in the villas, tankless water heaters.
"I love the convenience of this location," Bethel says as she prepares to go to a bridge club meeting with her friends. "This is a very snug house, and I'm extremely comfortable in it."
