Five local architecture firms will showcase their designs in a high-end residential development coming to West Lake Hills.
Custom homebuilder Foursquare Builders LLC announced Sept. 7 it will build an enclave of six ultra-luxury homes in the tony suburb west of downtown Austin, designed by five renowned firms. The development, called the Wildcat Club, will have home prices starting at $11.75 million. All of the home listings in the development are with Darin Walker of Kuper Sotheby’s International Realty.
“The vision was to develop this parcel where we can bring a very select group of architects to work with us on these six properties, so that we have a community of architecturally significant homes that are held to a standard that’s considerably higher than what most people think of when they think of a real estate development,” said Wes Wigginton, owner of Foursquare Builders.
The six homes will be built on lots ranging from one to 4.5 acres off Wildcat Hollow, with expansive floor plans ranging from 5,750 square feet up to 9,500 square feet. Architecture firms Furman + Keil Architects, McKinney York Architects, Jay Corder Architects and Clayton-Korte Architects each designed one home and System D Architects designed two.
The largest home, which has already been sold, includes an office, butler’s pantry, game room, elevator, three second-floor patios, a pool and spa, outdoor kitchen, a master suite with den, gourmet kitchen and a one-bed, one-bath guest house with a kitchen.
The homes will also have options for home automation through two “nationally known” tech companies, Wigginton said.
Foursquare consults with clients prior to installing automation systems, he said, as many buyers at the price point for these homes often already have one or two homes elsewhere and are seeking consistency throughout their homes.
Buyers also get a say in the interiors, finishes and furnishings in the homes.
“[Buyers] are able to make adjustments to those specifications as they would like to do,” Wigginton said. “Everybody likes different things.”
The owner of the 9,500-square-foot home took advantage of that opportunity. Now, interior designer Fern Santini — whose work has appeared in Architectural Digest and Traditional Home — and landscape design firm Big Red Sun are signed up to help decorate the inside and outside.
“In my experience in the market, I haven’t seen another enclave that’s going to deliver at this level,” said Walker, who ranked No. 17 on Austin Business Journal’s latest list of top-selling solo Realtors with more than $77 million in gross sales in 2021.
The development has a “dream team” working on it between Foursquare and the five architecture firms, he said.
Foursquare spoke with around 10 architecture firms before narrowing the field down to the five chosen for the development, Wigginton said.
“We feel like we picked those that would, from a design perspective, all play well together within this development, without [the homes] looking the same,” he said. “They will always be very unique, but they all have a common thread of design intention through these houses that will make them feel comfortable and fit the landscape.”
The Wildcat Club signifies the continued evolution of the luxury market in the Austin area.
“It’s a very unique development in Austin, Texas to be able to say, ‘I’m in this enclave of architecturally significant homes,’ which helps protect their values,” said Wigginton, whose Foursquare reported nearly $13 million in custom home sales closed in 2021.
Sales of homes priced at $1 million or more in the Austin metro have been trending upward in recent years. In 2021, such sales totaled 3,103, up from 1,085 in 2019, according to the latest data from Texas Realtors. That was only 161 fewer sales than in Houston, a much larger metro and traditionally a much bigger luxury market.
The ZIP code that includes West Lake Hills, 78746, ranks No. 4 among the wealthiest ZIPs in the Austin area, with median household income of $151,488 and with 37% of households having and income greater than $200,000.
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