Steve Winn, founder of real estate software company RealPage, and the University of Texas at Austin are investing a combined $200 million in sustainable research sites.
The Dallas billionaire and the university will fund the development of research facilities near Hays and Travis county lines in the Texas Hill Country, the Dallas Morning News reported. The project will be part of a series of similar sites called the Texas Field Station Network, spanning across the state.
Winn will invest $50 million, and UT will spend $150 million from donations, federal research grants and university funds. Construction is set to begin next spring and be completed by spring 2026.
“Our grant, coupled with the University of Texas, is expected to fund research that will, in areas of biodiversity and sustainability, have a profound impact on the central area of Texas,” Winn told the outlet. “We have a fragile ecosystem that we need to protect. So, how we develop responsibly and allow the area to grow in a way that preserves the land and the water for future generations of Texans is important.”
The facility will stand adjacent to Winn’s 1,400-acre Mirasol Springs, a luxury home development where conservationists have expressed concerns about ecological harm.
Robert Mace, executive director at the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, warned that development, though seemingly isolated, could have compounding negative effects on the delicate ecosystem.
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However, David Hillis, director of UT’s Biodiversity Center, emphasized the positive potential of the project. Hillis believes Winn’s conservation easement, designating a significant portion of the land for preservation, is a crucial foundation for their research endeavors. One of the facilities, the Hill Country Field Station at Mirasol Springs, will allow students and researchers to stay overnight and engage in extended field courses.
While Winn’s resort and the research site are separate endeavors, he hopes to reshape skeptics’ opinions through their combined success.
“I hope this becomes a playbook for other developers, when they start to think about developing land themselves,“ Winn told the outlet. “I think some people just don’t understand what we’re trying to do. But once they do, I expect they’re going to support us.”
—Quinn Donoghue