According to the Austin Business Journal, work has begun on the first two sections of a residential development that could bring as many as 5,500 new homes to Leander and Liberty Hill. Gunn & Whittington Development is the developer of the three subdivisions.

Rancho Sienna on Parmer Lane in east Leander is 610 acres. Middlebrook, along Hwy. 29 in Liberty Hill, is 400 acres. Santa Rita, also in Liberty Hill, is 1,200 acres.

Construction on the first 167 lots of Rancho Sienna and the first phase of Middlebrook has begun. Buildout is expected to take five years. Plans for Santa Rita call for buildout completion in nine or ten years.

But there is conflict happening on who is going to provide the utilities for this area. Leander city officials don't want outside MUD (Municipal Utility District) to oversee the utility for this area because eventually Leander would have to absorb the debt of it. This means the Tax payers will be paying for it.

Middlebrook homes will range from the $140,000s to $220,000s. In the other two subdivisions, prices will be from the $200,000s to $400,000s.