Thomas Ranch, an over 2,200-acre community developed by Areté Collective, is continuing to progress with construction as the first residents are expected to move in early 2027, Managing Director Joe Rentfro said.

The overview: Within Thomas Ranch will be several different neighborhoods with both single-family and multifamily housing options totaling 3,500 units.

Currently, 1,300 units are in various stages of build-out, Rentfro said.

Nearly 300 are in Loraloma, is a private community within Thomas Ranch that includes upscale properties and a variety of amenities.

The details: Along with housing, Thomas Ranch will include over 450,000-square-feet of commercial spaces in a “downtown” area for retail, dining and office use.

Included in the commercial space will be a school and medical center.

What’s next: Bids for Phase 3 of Loraloma’s construction will be sent out in June or July, which involves constructing roads to connect Hwy. 71 to the north end Pale Face Ranch Road, taking about 18 months to complete, Rentfro said.

Necoa, a water purification company, launched two Austin-area showrooms recently, according to a representative from Codeword communication agency. 

In a nutshell: The brand launched a mobile showroom, showcasing its water purification products, at Domain Northside in early March. The pop-up showroom will be available through May 31. 

Necoa’s other showroom officially opened at Barton Creek Square shopping center on April 11. The location is Necoa’s second largest hub in Texas, after its Frisco location, according to Codeword.

What they offer: The brand offers smart water purifiers, as well as built-in faucets. The five-stage RO filtration system reduces contaminants such as microplastics, bacteria, viruses, heavy metals and more, according to its website. 

• 11821 Rock Rose Ave., Austin (Domain Northside); 2901 S. Capital of Texas Hwy., Ste. E03, Austin (Barton Creek Square)

From a Moxies in the Domain to a new business park in Georgetown, here are five of the most expensive projects filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation in the Austin metro this week.

1. Moxies ($7 million): A new Moxies location is coming to the Domain, with construction set to begin in July. 

2. Austin Ridge Bible Church ($7 million): Austin Ridge purchased the Great Hills Baptist Church facility and are working on plans for renovation.

3. Mason Phase 2 ($5 million): This project includes improvements to a single family subdivision, covering 32,000 square feet.

4. Decker Lane site work ($4.5 million): This project includes work on Decker Industrial Park for five buildings, and associated connecting roads and utilities around the building.

5. Bell Gin Business Park ($3.72 million): The project consists of constructing five 7,200-square-foot shell buildings and two 10,800-square-foot buildings for commercial office and warehouse use.

More than 53,000 students will be invited to join Texas’ education savings account program this week, the state comptroller’s office said May 4.

The details: Families will be notified by email between May 4-6 if they were awarded funds in the second round of the Texas Education Freedom Accounts program, per a news release from the comptroller’s office.

To date, nearly 96,000 students have been selected to participate, with these students set to receive about $820 million of the $1 billion state lawmakers allocated for the program, an agency spokesperson said. Of the 53,000 second-round awardees, over 51,000 are from low-income families. The other 2,000 students accepted this week were found to qualify for disability-related funding, the agency said.

The background: Families accepted to the TEFA program will receive state funds to send their children to private schools or homeschool them for the 2026-27 school year.

Proponents of the new program have said it will expand educational opportunities, while critics have expressed concerns that the program will unfairly benefit students already enrolled in private schools.