ATX-BAS: Impact 11/5/2025

A new senior living option is coming to Bastrop.

The details: Pine Creek Senior Apartments, which Vigilance Development Group will construct and Allied Orion Group will manage, will be located on Lovers Lane near College Street.

Phase 1 will feature 52 units—36 one-bedroom and 16 two-bedroom residences—for residents ages 55 years and older. Rent will be based on the area’s median income, or AMI, with units reserved for residents making 60%, 50% and 30% of the AMI, according to developers Elizabeth Property Group.

Amenities will include:

• On-site laundry
• Washer and dryer hookups in units
• Community room with kitchen
• Outdoor lounge space with barbecue area
• Natural wooded green space

Bastrop County Emergency Services District No. 3 appears to be coming to Elgin after voters OK’d the services during the Nov. 4 election, according to unofficial results as of 10:16 p.m. Nov. 4.

The details: With the ESD No. 3 expansion approved, Elgin residents and those who live in its extraterritorial jurisdiction within Bastrop County will pay up to $0.10 per $100 of taxable value to the district—a move that would become effective in January.

The Texas Department of Transportation will begin one of Austin’s largest underground construction projects in 2026—boring 6.5 miles of 22-foot-wide tunnels beneath I-35 to reduce flooding along the corridor.

Explained: As part of the I-35 Central project, the tunnels—large enough to fit a CapMetro bus—will stretch from 45th Street to Cesar Chavez Street before turning east toward U.S. 183 near Lady Bird Lake. Work will begin with excavation of nine drop shafts up to 200 feet deep, with the first tunnel boring machine starting near Airport Boulevard in 2026.

The $748 million project, led by contractor Sak & Shea, also includes a new pump station capable of treating 130,000 gallons of stormwater per minute. TxDOT says the system will improve water quality, lower the floodplain by roughly 350 acres and ease pressure on the Waller Creek tunnel.

Looking ahead: Construction will run around the clock through 2029. Nearby residents can expect some vibration and dust, though TxDOT plans to monitor and mitigate both throughout the project.

As of press time, all 17 constitutional amendments on the Texas ballot were poised to become law. The state propositions with the most support would either expand property tax exemptions or prohibit new taxes, while voters also favored measures aimed at funding infrastructure and research.

The overview: Some of the state propositions on the ballot included:

• Proposition 1: new funding to support the Texas State Technical College System
• Proposition 3: tighter restrictions on when Texas judges can grant bail for felony offenses
• Proposition 4: $20 billion for water supply projects and infrastructure
• Proposition 9: a $125,000 property tax exemption for businesses
• Propositions 11 and 13: expanded property tax exemptions for Texas homeowners
• Proposition 14: $3 billion to create a state dementia research institute