Highest and best use of property - development potential?

Question

How does one go about determining the highest and best use of a particular piece of real estate?   I purchased a 10 acre tract in non-restricted, non-zoned area on a rather popular road connecting two rural cities just 25 minutes from main city (in the Austin metropolitan area).  It has a house and swimming pool on one side of the lot.  It is a rectangular lot with the long side on the major public road and another public road going down the other side of the property, and another public road coming from the other side of the major road.  It has 3phase electric on the property and surrounded by water lines along the 2 roads surrounding the property.  I'm usually just a house flipper, but I realize this lot may have potential for development or other uses and wondering who or what type of people I should consult with before deciding on how to maximize profits on this property.  (RV park, housing development, commercial, renovate as a house on 10 acres? etc..)  Any advice will be appreciated.

Jim Cummings · Answer

@Cindy L. When you say in Del Valle - I presume you mean in Travis County.

if in fact, it's in Travis County, and assuming there are no current deed restrictions on the property dictating otherwise, you will most likely end up with subdivided lots with a minimum of 2 Acres, based on doing septic systems and wells.

AS I recall there is no Planning & Zoning Office in Travis County. I would make my first call to your local County Commissioner's office. For Del Valle that is precinct Four. Ask them to direct you who to contact in the Travis County / Austin Bureaucracy.

https://www.traviscountytx.gov/commissioners-court...

Another area of concern is if the property is located with the Austin Extra Territorial Jurisdiction (ETJ). The Austin ETJ extends 5 Miles past the city limits.  So, if the property is in the Austin ETJ, they will have a large say in what you can do with the property.

Good luck with this one!

Nik Moushon · Answer

Though you are not wrong Jay I would actually disagree with contacting a civil engineer first and heres why. Engineers are rarely very creative people and will give you a design that is as plain and simple as it can possibly be. If thats what you want then give the engineer a call. If the absolute bottom dollar is the only thing that matters, an engineer is the professional you want.

But if you want a creative design that doesnt look like a sheet of graph paper was used to layout you streets that still gets you the most out of your land then contact an architect first. Architects are not just for the building and the building alone. Architects by profession are used to coordinating all the CA phase of a project and coordinate all the subs needed for a project. You actually dont have to go back that far in history to when it was still common for an architect to do EVERYTHING on a project. Civil, structural, MEP, interior design, site design, landscape design...everything. Now obviously most of that broken up nowadays but one thing that is still very common is site design and development design. Look up some of the best developments and residential communities that have been built in the last 10 years what do you think the odds of them being designed by a civil engineer over an architect is? I use to work for a huge developer in the DC area. All their site plans where designed by a civil engineer. I hated every single one of them. Sure they absolutely maxed out as many lots as they could but the layout was boring as hell and did absolutely nothing to improve the look or layouts of the site. It was as plain as could possibly be. They cared more that the cut and fill equaled out than anything else.

Who designs a car? The designer or the mechanical engineer? Both can make a car that functions perfectly but only one is going to make it look amazing.

Mike Reynolds · Answer

I'm not so sure that parcel in non zoned. Del Valle does have a P&Z board. In fact a few years back on a similar 10 acre tract they voted 10-0 on not allowing a MHP being built there. I hope yours is not the same tract.

Go talk to the P&Z board first and save your civil engineer money for later.

Jay Hinrichs · Answer

in this case an architect is way down the line of who you would talk to.

the first people to talk to are land use planners..  and civil engineers .. it sounds like the property is unzoned.. which I am not clear what that means in Texas.. from gossip of old I took that to mean you could do anything you wanted that could be physically built..

biggest issues for development of say housing.. would be water  sewer electric and storm drains if necessary.. so you could start at the county...  Planning ,   Public works  if its a private water company or public company check in with them to determine sizing.

and the fire departments in many areas have minimum fire flow rules for subdivisions  1,500 GPM at the hydrant

Architect would be someone you would hire to actually design your buildings that is farther down the line.. you need to understand what is possible on the property.

Or the health department for minimum lot size when served by septic and public water or septic and sewer.. and just bust it up in lots and sell off .. good thing is your fronting public streets already so it could be as easy as taps into the public water and putting in septic tanks and drawing lines for your new lots which a civil engineer would normally do.. you may never need to ever talk to an architect unless your going to actually build something.

Jay Hinrichs · Answer

@Nik Moushon  I hear ya.. but not my experience I have never ever gone to an architect to design a subdivision I have used land use planners  then to the engineer or surveyor..

we only use architects for the actual buildings..   Land use planners will give you all the fluffy design stuff for the dirt.

but that's my experience as a private developer.. and I was not huge so it could change a bunch for big developers

but for this guys 10 acre out in the country.. I just cant see architect being the first move..

I have a 90 lot deal I am closing in December in Oregon  it will be a 50 million dollar build out.. I am the owner and the developer.. the only thing I am doing with my architect is choosing themes and house designs .. not one thing on land use or planning..  but that's our market .

Mike Reynolds · Answer

Maybe you can in West Texas or remote parts elsewhere in the state but a suburb of Austin is more like Portland than one of those areas.  Good news for the OP is that Del Valle is a good place to own land. Up and coming and close to the airport.

Jay Hinrichs · Answer

Ya I kind of thought the wild west days of building anything you want in texas may have gone away.. I can tell you in our west coast states PHew its tough.. really tough..  MHP are simply not being built much these days.. cities counties have a hard time approving them.. then the absorption given the cost of the land and modern infrastructure requirements make them most challenging at least here on the west coast. if anything they are bought closed and subdivided for stick built housing..

Cindy L. · Answer

I like the idea of using an architect up front to do a simple diagram/model of the overall plan as a starting point.  Great advice.  Thanks everyone for the feedback.

Jim Adrian · Answer

If you are going the commercial avenue...  Call a local architect and have a talk with them.  They will let you know if and how they can help you or refer you on.

What you need is a "master plan" for the site.  An architect or landscape planner/urban designer can provide this for you.  A civil engineer is pushing their limits with this, I feel and I would pass on them.   This can be a simple site diagram / mass modeling and it doesn't have to be fancy full renderings. Though you can go this route.  From here you can put a rough order of magnitude for cost.  Then decide what is feasible by cost and work one piece of the puzzle at a time.

Later in the process its best to hire the architect who then will hire the engineers that are needed for the project.  This gives you one contract to deal with.  If you, the owner, hires each engineer  and architect separately this removes the contractual obligation to work with each other.   Engineers and architects don't like working under separate contracts under the owner.

Cindy L. · Answer

Thanks all.  The property is not in an ETJ, no deed restrictions, no zoning restrictions, it's in Bastrop county just outside of Austin. No public sewage so property would be on septic.  I have never developed property before and my initial plan was just to glam up the house and pool, subdivide the property in half and flip the house on about 5 acres and sell of the remaining 5 acres.  Because that's the only experience I really have.  However, I think there are better things to do with the property and was wondering what other's might consider doing with this type of property...  I like the idea that one person have of possibly just subdividing into lots since I potentially might not even have to build any roads or infrastructure since existing roads and water lines almost surround half of the property on at least 2 sides and 3 phase electric is on the property. Should I also be looking at partnering with someone who would know how to maximize profit potential on this property....

Highest and best use of property - development potential?

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