Round Up Your Busy Family: A Sunday House Share at Boot Ranch Makes A Luxury Second Home Simple

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Boot Ranch

An aerial view of a Sunday House compound. All photos courtesy of Boot Ranch.

Do you hanker for a Hill Country vacation home for family gatherings, but question if you’d use it enough to justify the trouble and cost? Or perhaps, you don’t want to dedicate all your free time to the same place — but, you’d like a spot to get together for vacations and occasional weekends, especially if your children are grown up, live in scattered Texas cities and now have children of their own?

The developers of Boot Ranch might just have the answer in a luxury private club community offering golf, swimming, tennis, and more in a gorgeous Hill Country setting just 5 miles outside of the charming town of Fredericksburg and within a four-hour drive of most major Texas cities.

Among the options in this 2,000-acre premier golf community are large “Sunday Houses” shared among eight owners, each of whom has use of the property for approximately 40 days per year. Shares are now available in Sunday House Six, scheduled for completion in Spring 2017. Here’s a look at this deal with appeal to those who can’t do all the time, but, like me, have Hill County in their soul:

Boot Ranch 25

Founded in 2006 by pro golfer Hal Sutton, the Boot Ranch community is built around an 18-hole, 7,155-yard championship golf course that was ranked among the top 10 in Texas for 2015/2016 by Golf Digest, as it has been for many years running by The Dallas Morning News. Terra Verde Group (the folks behind stellar Windsong Ranch in Prosper) bought Boot Ranch in August 2015 and is continuing its development.

Currently, residents enjoy the private golf course and clubhouse, lodge facilities with 10 luxurious guest suites, a spa and workout facilities, three swimming pools, lighted hard-surface tennis and sport courts, a trap and skeet range, an open-air event pavilion with seating for 300, and a clubhouse restaurant helmed by chef Aaron J. Staudenmaier (an alumnus of Abacus and The Mansion on Turtle Creek kitchens.)

Future plans include facilities on the northern 1,000 acres of the property to accommodate family-friendly outdoor activities on Longhorn Lake, and provide an extensive system of trails. The shared-ownership Sunday Houses are part of the larger property offering that includes estate custom homesites from two to 18 acres priced from the low $300,000s to $2.5 million, and homesites of less than two acres starting in the high $200,000s that come with customizable architectural plans for homes that start around $1 million.

Named for the homes German settlers built in Fredericksburg so they could attend weekend services and (yahoo!) be away from the chores at the farm, each Sunday House is a four-structure compound built around a courtyard. The most recent version is 4,500 square feet with five bedrooms and five full and one half baths comprised of a two-story main house with living, kitchen, and dining areas, a master bedroom suite, and a bunk room that will sleep four or more on the second floor; a second house that also has a master bedroom suite; and two cottages with less elaborate guest suites.

When conceived, the developer thought the Sunday Houses would be most popular for use by small groups of golfing buddies. As it turns out, the arrangement is ideal for multi-generational families, too.

“Usually, the couple with the youngest kids takes the main house with the bunk room, the grandparents take the detached master cottage, and two other couples stay in the guest cottages,” Boot Ranch’s director of marketing Barbara Koenig explained.

The privacy afforded by the detached cottages works well for business retreats, too.

Boot Ranch Sunday House

Here’s an example floor plan: Boot Ranch Sunday House

The Sunday Houses have been built one at a time; construction on House Six will soon start, with an estimated completion of Spring 2017. The homes come fully furnished, with decor by Austin interior designer Donna Figg. Each house is unique. Photos of Sunday House Four will give you an idea of the styling, which starts with natural stone and cedar wood on a lot with mature trees and low-maintenance landscaping:

Boot Ranch Sunday House

An open floor plan with tall ceilings graces the main house:

Boot Ranch Sunday House

The decor is a sophisticated mix of casual, rustic, and chic:

Boot Ranch Sunday House

The central area opens to a modern kitchen. Picture Dad cooking pancakes here for kids lined up at the counter:

Boot Ranch Sunday House

Out back there is green space off the courtyard — the space around which the houses form a U-shape, leaving space for the glorious view:

Boot Ranch Sunday House

Plus a fire pit, and shaded seating under the porches:

Boot Ranch Sunday House

The master and guest bedrooms feature en suite baths and comfortable furnishings with clean lines and soothing neutral colors:

Boot Ranch Sunday House

Boot Ranch Sunday House

Boot Ranch Sunday House

Boot Ranch Sunday House

Boot Ranch Sunday House

The bunk room on the second floor of the main house looks to be just the right amount of rustic and cozy for kids:

Boot Ranch Sunday House

Who have their own bathroom:

Boot Ranch Sunday House

Note the scenic views:

Boot Ranch Sunday House

Boot Ranch Sunday House

Sunday House Six overlooks the golf course:

Boot Ranch Sunday House

Each Sunday House share owner pays a fee of $12,500 per year, which covers maintenance and daily maid service, utilities, management fee, reserves, property taxes, and insurance. Annual Club dues are $10,000 for Sunday House golf membership, which extends member privileges to five generations of the family while in residence at a Sunday House or Boot Ranch Lodge Suite. Shares in Sunday House Six are currently priced at $400,000. For more information, contact Boot Ranch Realty. And, mark your calendar: a model home now under construction at Boot Ranch will be a Texas Monthly showhouse next spring.

valeriejarvie

valeriejarvie