By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News

After a year of construction, NRP Group LLC is opening Aria Steiner Ranch, a new apartment complex with 302 units at 4800 Steiner Ranch Blvd.

Located near the Steiner Ranch Steakhouse, there will be a total of 25 buildings onsite including 18 apartment buildings, garages and a clubhouse.

“Construction has gone very well,” said Mark Jensen, NPR Group’s San Antonio-based vice president of development. The project is expected to be complete by the fall.

Pre-leasing has just begun and the first tenants start moving in next month.

“We are rolling out pre-leasing in full force. We’re not in the clubhouse yet, but doing online leasing. We’ll be onsite in mid-February,” Jensen said.

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Hill Country Bible Church recently closed on 32 acres of property located northwest of the Vista Ridge at Steiner Ranch shopping center. For now, however, its Steiner Ranch offices are at 2900 N. Quinlan Park Road in the Shops at Steiner Ranch. Staff members are, left to right, Sandy Rigney, administrative coordinator; Josh Howard, student ministry pastor; Josh Tullis, worship pastor; Don Dumbacher, campus pastor; Matt Jones, tech coordinator; and Rhonda Fionda, children’s ministry director.
Photo by Kim Estes

By KIM ESTES, Four Points News

Hill Country Bible Church recently closed on the purchase of 32 acres of property northwest of  the Vista Ridge at Steiner Ranch shopping center, off N. Quinlan Park Road.

According to Don Dumbacher, HCBC Steiner Ranch campus pastor, cost of the land was more than $2 million.

Five-and-a-half acres of the tract will accommodate a building and parking areas, with the remainder used for ball fields and other community needs. A construction start date has not been set.

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By SCOTT W. COLEMAN, Four Points News

Last year was a historic season for Vandegrift High School in many respects. But, the girls soccer team’s state title was especially sweet. The road to a repeat state title may challenging, but that hasn’t stopped the Lady Vipers from getting out to a strong start in district play.

Last season, the Lady Vipers seemingly spent all of last season both chasing, and being chased. Many of the team’s critical victories along the way were close, with key goals often coming in dramatic fashion.

 With three losses and a pair of ties, and an oft-repeated battle with district and LISD rival Cedar Park playing out through the regular season and again in the playoffs, when the teams played to a 1-1 tie in regulation. The Lady Vipers just missed a scoring opportunity in overtime, but when neither team scored a winning goal, the game went into a second overtime. With no scoring in the second overtime, it was a kick from midfielder Kyndal Howard who slid the winning penalty kick past Cedar Park’s District 25-4A goalkeeper of the year Alanis Guevara for the win.

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By KIM ESTES, Four Points News

Recent predatory attacks on family pets and reports of wild animals seen in the area have created a greater sense of vulnerability in Four Points and Steiner Ranch especially.

While this once rural setting continues to develop as a suburban retreat, residents wonder what wildlife is being displaced, what is actually adapting, and what protective measures should be taken.

Bobcat

Jacob Hetzel, a Texas Wildlife Services wildlife biologist, says known wild animals in Steiner Ranch include coyotes, gray fox, raccoons, skunks and ringtail cats. “Most likely,” he adds, “there are bobcats too.”

The most recent concern of residents, mountain lions, is not on the list.

Last month, a violent attack on a Welsh corgi in her family’s Hills of West Ridge backyard had some indicators similar to the work of a large cat. However, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department wildlife biologist, Blake Hendon, said last week it is unlikely TPWD will be able to identify the specific type of predator responsible for the pet’s death.

Mountain Lion

“Is there a possibility that there are mountain lions here? I think it is highly unlikely,” TWS’s Hetzel says, “but anything is possible.”

The TWS office gets 12 to 15 reports a year of mountain lions in Travis County. None have been confirmed.

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By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News

A District 6 Candidate Runoff Forum featuring Austin City Council candidates Don Zimmerman and Jimmy Flannigan took place a couple of weeks ago in Four Points. The candidates hashed out the issues in anticipation of gaining more votes for the runoff election.

Early voting started last week and Dec. 16 is voting day for runoffs.

Election results in November showed that Zimmerman received 24.21 percent of the vote and Flannigan received 24.05 percent.

About 35 people attended the forum on Nov. 18 which was held at Austin Baptist Church and sponsored by the Four Points Chamber of Commerce.

“It went great. It covered a lot of issues relevant in Four Points and beyond,” said Brian Thompto, Steiner Ranch Neighborhood Association chairman.

The SRNA Facebook page has a link to the video of the forum including the questions asked by local residents at: www.facebook.com/Steiner.Ranch.Neighborhood.Association

Questions were submitted beforehand via email and during the event to a panel which included Scott Crosby, head of the River Place HOA, and Tiffany Speaks, Four Points business owner including Trails at 620 and Moviehouse & Eatery.

Paul O’Brien moderated the event. He is a Steiner Ranch resident, chief marketing officer of MicroVentures and author of the Steiner Ranch Post.

The issues at the recent forum revolved around traffic, transportation, utilities and development.

This is the first Austin City Council election with geographic representation. Four Points now has representation in District 6, which sprawls from Brushy Creek near Round Rock and Cedar Park in the north, southward through Anderson Mill and the surrounding commercial areas, all the way down a corridor to Bee Caves Road. It includes all or portions of River Place, Grandview Hills, Comanche Trail, homes in Steiner Ranch within 100 feet of Lake Austin, and older areas outside and nearby Steiner Ranch including south of Selma Hughes Park Road.

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