Escondido

) ESCONDIDO:  A MAGNIFICENT ADDITION TO HSB!  It welcomed in 2007 already 77% sold out.

During the spring of 2004, Brady Oman walked into Wayne Hurd’s HSB office to

ask about the 400 (+/-) acre Dillon Ranch.  Wayne knew all about the ranch.  He

owned it.

The ranch was located on RR 2147 between HSB Proper and HSB West and was

bounded on the north by Lake LBJ and Pecan Creek.  It set atop rolling terrain

with granite outcroppings, a spring fed creek that flowed year around, and featured

centuries-old Live Oak trees. 

Wayne knew the rectangular-shaped tract was one of the most prized undeveloped

properties in the northern Hill Country – the Hill Country’s prettiest, most colorful, most

interesting, and most valuable portion.

He had held the property for several years while awaiting a real estate Rebound –

certain HSB would fully recover from the doldrums that began in 1986.  He was equally

certain the rebound would attract someone with Five-Star plans, and with the capacity

to carry them out.  Brady convinced Wayne he was the guy and Wayne sold him the

ranch on May 28, 2004. 

Brady had seen enough of the Hill Country to be confident the Ranch was his destiny –

believing it was the best possible site for his dream project in all the Texas.  He was

drawn to the Ranch by its location on America’s lake of choice and by it being in such

close proximity - like dead center – to an already established, exceptionally high-end

community such as HSB.  He broke ground on his grand project immediately

thereafter, and would call it Escondido.

We know Brady today as Escondido’s Founder, Developer, and General Partner. 

Escondido’s Limited Partners are Terry Horton and his son Trent.  The three men make

up an extraordinarily effective and well-funded team.

Prior to becoming involved at Escondido, Terry Horton established himself as part of

the executive team at D.R. Horton Homes, the nation’s largest home-builder.  It is a

Fortune-500 company, builds in 27 states, and is Texas-based. 

Brady and the Hortons look to establish themselves firmly among America’s top

developers of premier golf course communities by pointing to  Escondido – which they

see as their flagship.  They expect it to be the first of many such up-scale

developments the group plans to create, both inside and outside the bounds of Texas.

With that long-term objective in mind, Brady had truly great plans for the ranch.

In fact, his stated goal from was to build “Texas’ premier luxury community where

the private club lifestyle and unprecedented level of concierge service will create a

prestigious enclave in the heart of the Texas Hill Country.”  It would feature

lakeside living, championship golf and fine dining of the highest quality, all as if

the community were rooted deep in the midst of Tuscany.

Today, less than three years later, he has essentially pulled it off, even though his

masterpiece is not quite complete.  Although much was accomplished during 2006

- the development’s fabulous perimeter Rock Wall was completed, as were its Main Entry and Gatehouse, its Fazio Golf Course and Comfort Stations, its Roadways and other Infrastructure, and its La Hacienda Practice Facility – two pieces were still missing, the “Lake Club” and the “Clubhouse.” 

Nevertheless, it was absolutely clear that Escondido is on tract to be among the

country’s finest private golfing retreats.  It will be a fabulous addition to HSB.  

The Lake Club, which will open this summer, is being built on Escondido’s Lake LBJ

waterfront.  It will feature a cabana with bar and grill, a swimming pool and hot tub,

and a well-appointed party pavilion for gatherings and cook-outs.  It will also be home

to about 30 courtesy Day Docks for residents not living on the lake and home to

Escondido’s Rod and Canoe Club, providing Escondido Members with complimentary

bait, tackle, and canoes - daily.

Construction of Escondido’s Clubhouse - approximately 30,000 square feet in size,

including a 6,000-foot Cart Barn in its basement - will begin this summer.  Brady

intends to make Escondido’s Clubhouse the most luxurious in America. 

The clubhouse will be home to a spectacular resort pool with Olympic-like lap lanes, clay tennis courts, a well-equipped fitness center, a sumptuous spa, richly-appointed locker rooms, a lounge, grill and multiple dining areas, indoors and out. 

The PGA Tour recognizes the clubhouse at Castle Pines - located in the Rocky Mountain’s foothills just south of Denver - as being the Tour’s overall finest, featuring a magnificent men’s locker room and lounge widely recognized as the country’s best.  Brady expects Escondido’s Clubhouse to be its equal, and actually has hopes it might surpass it.

The Clubhouse will also feature finer dining/cuisine than available anywhere else

among PGA-associated facilities in the nation.  Wow, how’s that you say? 

Well, one way to insure that is to hire the executive chef who won the PGA Tour’s

Annual Award for serving the Tour’s Best Food several years running.  And, you

guessed it again!  Brady just got the guy - Executive Chef Marco Arguellas.

Chef Marco arrived on the Escondido scene in late December.  He won the awards

while at New Orleans’ English Turn, the PGA Tour’s New Orleans’ annual stop off. 

Not satisfied in just having the best Country Club Chef in America, Brady went one

step further and hired Andrew Weissman, Owner and Executive Chef of San Antonio’s “Restaurant Le Reve” – ranked by the prestigious Gayot Survey in its “Annual Review of America’s Restaurants” as Best in Texas for the past three years.  He will be a consultant to Escondido’s kitchen, advising on food preparation and menus. 

The two chefs had their first chance to perform on the night of January 12^th, working

out of Escondido’s La Hacienda’s grill – which though well equipped, has nothing

compared with what the chefs will be working with after the Clubhouse kitchen opens.

Nevertheless, they blew out the crowd on their initial try, delivering several courses the

guests found to be among the best tasting and most nicely prepared they’d ever

encountered.  If they can be that good on their first try, Escondido’s dining appears on

tract to be an exceptional treat, to say the least.

Escondido’s La Hacienda, recently completed, is a spectacular golf practice and training facility.  The facility was intended to be among the country’s best and has seemingly made the grade.  Built to make one believe it has sat where it is for centuries while evoking Tuscany at every turn, it is no doubt among the country’s finest.

It serves those using Escondido’s driving range, short-game practice area and putting green.  It’s also there to accommodate those looking to get serious about improving their golfing fundamentals by housing state-of-the-art training facilities, including a 600 square foot indoor Hitting Bay with doors 15-feet wide that open onto the driving range. 

The Hitting Bay contains a V-1 Video Swing Analysis System that features a Computerized Monitoring Package incorporating four cameras.  It also has a Vector Launch Monitor for fitting golf clubs.

In addition, La Hacienda features a bistro-style grill, a well-stocked bar and additional lockers.  It also contains a doubly private, "members only" cigar room called El Corazon.  This quaint room is for cigar smoking, card playing and watching sporting events on its 50" flat screen HDTV.  And to make certain the cigars are well cared for, El Corazon contains 54 “cigar lockers,” 40 of which have been committed out on one-time membership fees of $3,500.

Escondido’s homes are another matter deserving notice.  They are being built

following the strictest of architectural controls to assure that Escondido connotes the

“warmth and harmony of the Tuscan countryside, invigorated with a little Texas

maverick spirit.  They will exemplify the rustic luxury seen in the great country houses

of Provence, Spain and Tuscany.” 

Considering that some 350 lots are platted for development at Escondido, its Tuscany

feeling will grow all the more authentic as the community is built out.  More than a

dozen homes are at or nearing completion and they are indeed delivering the Tuscany

feeling, attesting to the merit and success of Escondido’s architectural controls.  

Regarding golf, Brady brought in one of the golfing world’s foremost golf course

architects - Tom Fazio - to build Escondido’s course.  It was up and fully playable by

this past spring, all in less than two years.  PGA Pro J. L. Lewis, formerly of HSB, says

it is destined to be one of Fazio's best – being the talk on the Tour. 

Fazio tells locals a large budget is the main ingredient required to produce a great course.  He says he had that budget at Escondido. 

PGA Pro Fred Funk will represent Escondido on the Tour and plans to call Escondido his home.  Escondido’s Director of Golf is Bruce Cotton.  He came to Escondido having served most recently as Director of Golf for the Bent Tree Country Club in Dallas and the Wichita Falls Country Club, both being high-end private clubs like Escondido. 

Escondido’s Golf Course Superintendent is Scott Hamilton.  He came from The Woodlands, located outside Houston.  The Woodlands has two outstanding public-accessible courses – one 4½-Star and one 4-Star.

Escondido’s fairways are sodded with Zeon Zoysia – a new variety.  Escondido is one of only two courses in Texas now using it.  The first cut of rough is sodded with Jammer Zoysia, which has a healthy, thicker blade.  The second cut is sprigged Buffalo Grass - a heat resistant, low-maintenance grass.  A full collection of seasonal Texas wildflowers are mixed within the Buffalo. 

The bunkers at Escondido are sodded with Vijay Zoysia and the tee boxes are in

Emerald Bermuda - the same grass used on Wimbledon's grass tennis courts.  The

Greens feature the A1-A4-G6 variety of Bent Grass, which is like that used at Augusta. 

They are underlain with an underground, air-movement system.

Escondido’s infrastructure is not only substantially built out, the development itself

is in many respects practically sold out.  Only 23% of its 350 lots remained available as

of the end of 2006. 

Listed below is a summary of where Escondido’s sales effort stood at the end of

2006.  Positioned elsewhere of this page is a MAP OF ESCONDIDO showing the

development’s layout.  

ESTATE LOTS (220 Platted):  Almost all of Escondido’s Estate lots, which are about ½-acre in size, are located on either the golf course or the Pecan Creek arm of Lake LBJ.  By year-end 2006, approximately 160 Estate Lots had been sold.  A large majority of the 60 or so remaining were part of Escondido’s most recent and final release. 

Most of the remaining lots are golf course located along the east side of #9 fairway and the south side of #14.  A few are available as re-sales.  Prices along #9 range from $485,000 to $750,000 while prices along #14 range from $310,000 to $385,000. 

Estate lots located on the navigable portion of the Pecan Creek arm of Lake LBJ are priced from $675,000 to $1,210,000.  Eight of these remained available as of year end, 2006.

Estate lots located on the non-navigable portion of Pecan Creek are priced around $615,000.  About six of these remain available.

Escondido’s first 75 buyers - its Founders - got a membership valued at $60,000 free of cost, plus got to make great buys golf course lots for around $250,000 per.  Many of these lots have since doubled in value, if not more. 

The Founders’ Program was restricted to Estate lots located on Escondido’s back nine, which occupies the development’s south half.  The north half was totally undeveloped at the time.  This Program had completely sold out by the end of 2004.  

VILLA LOTS (63 Platted):  The 63 Villa lots, averaging a little more than 1/3^rd acre in size, were not put on the market until the spring of 2005.  All located in the development’s southwestern corner - separated from the lakefront and the golf course.  The Villa lots sold out in about three months.  Five re-sales were available at year-end, priced from $245,000 to $275,000 – up 20 to 30 percent. 

CASITAS (67):  Escondido released 13 of its Casita lots this past Labor Day.  They went fast, and 44 more went on sale November 18, 2006.  All are located in close proximity to the Club House and have either spectacular golf views or gorgeous nature settings, if not both.   Only four were left at year end.  Prices range from $215,000 to $310,000.  Ten are being held back for future development.

Brady’s other local real estate project is known as Lago Escondido - a sister residential

development.  Lago’s lot owners have full privileges to the amenities located at

Escondido.  A MAP OF LAGO ESCONDIDO showing the development’s layout is located

elsewhere on this page.

Lago Escondido is a 27-acre, 37-lot development located in HSB West.  It occupies the huge granite knob that juts into Lake LBJ immediately upstream from Applehead Island and is accessed from Apache Tears.  Twenty-four of the 37 are on LBJ’s lakefront.  All but six have the preferred eastern exposure.  Here’s where the sales effort of Escondido’s sister development stood at the end of 2006.

LAGO ESCONDIDO’s LAKEFRONT LOTS (24):  These 24 half-acre lots didn’t go on the market until Memorial Day, yet all but six were committed by year end at prices as high as $2,200,000.  Prices for the remaining six range from $1,600,000 to $1,900,000, up about 10 percent since the initial offering.

LAGO ESCONDIDO’s VIEW LOTS (13):  Eight of the 13 remain available, priced from $405,000 to $835,000. 

Considering that both developments have equal rights to Escondido’s amenities, Escondido’s collective membership will total approximately 500 members.  Currently sixty percent are from outside HSB, though most are Texans.  The 60/40 percentage will likely reverse over the next five years or so as many will move here full time.  A surprising number are from outside the state, reflecting the national attention the developments have garnered. 

In conclusion, look for Escondido’s course to be rated as one of America’s finest new courses when the development holds its Grand Opening in a couple of years - after the Clubhouse opens.  Also, look for Lago Escondido to be one of HSB finest, most upscale residential developments, competing with The Peninsula for top billing. 

Brady’s arrival in HSB has been a god-send.  What he has done with the two properties and what he has done to improve values across the entirety of HSB is far beyond what anyone might have imagined or thought possible. 

But Brady is not taking off to rest on laurels.  He’s busy chasing other possible projects in the area, as well as elsewhere.  Here’s hoping he finds another equally fine one close by that will further enhance our extraordinarily special community. 

It’s wonderful knowing that the Doug, Douglas and Jordan Jaffe, Wayne Hurd, Brady Oman, and now Sam Martin are all busy working to enhance the community.  It is also wonderful knowing Mayor Lambert and HSB’s City Council are in place to see that everything comes together in the best possible manner while operating with the realization that if HSB doesn’t continually grow and upgrade itself, it drops behind by default and declines to the detriment of everyone in HSB. 

Guys/Karen, rest assured.  Everyone in HSB appreciates seeing you make our wonderful community even better.