Out-of-town visitors hoping to use Rio Vista Park for kayaking, swimming, sunbathing or tubing on weekends and holidays this summer will be required to pay a managed access fee after the San Marcos City Council approved an ordinance April 7.

The gist: From Memorial Day through Labor Day, on weekends and holidays, non-local area participants will pay a $5 daily fee for access to Rio Vista Park.

Those exempt from the fee include individuals residing within at least one of the following areas:

• San Marcos city limits

• San Marcos CISD boundaries

• the 78666 ZIP code

Through the access fee, visitors from outside the area will contribute to Rio Vista Park’s increased seasonal upkeep and maintenance needs.

Looking forward: The fee will be required on 36 designated days during the 2026 summer season.

Local area participants can register with the city to receive a Resident River Pass that will be available digitally, as a printed copy or as a reusable wristband. 

After moving to America in 2001, local business owner Amin Hussain recently opened his second specialty fragrance store—this time, in San Marcos.

The overview: Perfume World, located next to The North Face store in the outlets, offers customers a wide variety of perfumes and colognes that won’t be found at the average retailer, Hussain said, including:

• Dubai niche fragrances

• Designer fragrances at wholesale and retail prices

• Discontinued fragrances

Meet the owner: Hussain has worked in the retail fragrance industry since he moved to America at the age of 14. He worked in a perfume store, saving money, until he had enough to open his own store at 18 in New York City.

After moving to Austin, he opened a perfume kiosk in the Round Rock Premium Outlets. He now has two perfume stores, including one in Lakeline Mall in Cedar Park.

Hussain also owns Royal Jewelers, which is located next to Shoe Palace in the San Marcos outlets.

• Opened Mar. 15

• San Marcos Premium Outlets, 3939 S. I-35, Ste. 209, San Marcos

From high school sports amenities to more parks and stores, here are five of the most expensive projects filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation in the Austin metro this week.

1. Titan NorthPark IX in Georgetown ($18 million): A 281,213-square-foot warehouse shell building will be built.

2. West Bastrop Village Pond Park ($2.6 million): The 106,000-square-foot park will offer sidewalks, athletic courts, playgrounds and open green space.

3. Gattis Retail Center Bldg 2 and 3 in Round Rock ($2.4 million): Developers will build two shell buildings on a roughly nine-acre tract of land as part of a future retail center.

4. Hendrickson HS Turf Field & Pond Design in Pflugerville ($2 million): Hendrickson High School will replace its existing baseball and softball fields with artificial turf fields. The project will feature a new drainage system and modification of the existing detention pond.

5. Eldorado Expansion in Austin ($1.5 million): Eldorado Cafe will add 4,402 square feet in restaurant space after becoming the tenant of an adjacent suite.

The $180 million St. David’s South Austin Medical Center expansion broke ground March 2, ahead of construction on the project’s four-story patient tower later this year.

The details: The new tower will include a 30-bed patient care unit, a 20-bed inpatient rehabilitation unit, four new operating rooms with shell space for future OR expansion, an eight-bed pre- and post-surgical unit, a seven-bay post-anesthesia care unit, and new lobby and waiting areas. The development will also feature new utility infrastructure, a sterile processing department and shell space for future additions.

Quote of note: “As South Austin continues to grow, we’re responding with an investment that expands access to surgical, rehabilitation and inpatient care, while strengthening the infrastructure that supports our clinical teams,” hospital CEO Charles Laird said in a statement.