360 Company Plans 800-Plus Homes in Bastrop Texas

A Central Texas developer is pressing ahead with a large-scale housing project near downtown Bastrop, even as softer home prices test the region’s breakneck growth narrative.

The 360 Company is advancing entitlements for Stonebrush, a 253-acre master-planned community slated to bring 817 homes to a site just north of downtown between Smith Road and Sayers Road, according to the Austin Business Journal. The Austin-based firm is mapping out a six-phase buildout, with the first lots ready to sell roughly a year after approvals and initial home completions projected for 2028.

The project will target the middle of the market, with 40- to 50-foot wide lots and home prices expected in the mid-$300,000s to mid-$400,000s. 360 Company President Kacee Jackson told the outlet that the firm is in talks with multiple homebuilders, but has yet to finalize lot sales, leaving flexibility in how the development ultimately takes shape.

Amenities will include a community pool, bathhouse and trail system, with plans also calling for an on-site wastewater treatment facility — a nod to the infrastructure challenges that have accompanied the area’s rapid expansion.

Stonebrush is the latest in a wave of development reshaping Bastrop County, where population growth and job expansion have drawn a steady pipeline of residential projects. Nearby, MA Partners is building out the first phase of its SilverLeaf community, while the sprawling Colony development continues to add to its more than 2,000 existing homes.

That growth is being fueled in part by major employers planting roots in the area. Elon Musk’s companies are expanding throughout Bastrop County, and Acutronic USA is preparing to break ground on a jet engine manufacturing facility, adding to a growing base of industrial and tech investment east of Austin, according to the outlet. Bastrop and other areas east of Austin are also seeing a rise in film studio buildouts.

Still, the housing market has shown signs of cooling. Median home prices in Bastrop County fell 8.3 percent, year-over-year, in March to about $330,000, one of the steepest declines in the Austin metro, according to Unlock MLS data. Inventory has begun to outpace demand, creating a more competitive environment for new projects.

Jackson told the outlet that he is betting that timing will work in his favor. By the time Stonebrush is ready to offer shovel-ready lots, he expects supply to tighten again as development lags behind long-term demand drivers.

— Eric Weilbacher