By Edmond Ortiz
New Braunfels’ ongoing growth is highlighted by a continuing surge of residential, commercial and mixed-use developments.
Some developments are unfolding along the Guadalupe and Comal rivers and close to the downtown area, while others are evolving around Gruene.
Focus on San Antonio recently published an update on the growing Mayfair master-planned community, but here is a rundown of what is happening at other major New Braunfels developments that are under construction or in the works.
Dittlinger Mill
Local residents gathered Aug. 25 at the New Braunfels Civic and Convention Center to get details on a proposed redevelopment of the former Dittlinger Mill.
San Antonio-based Oxbow Development Group, the company behind the redevelopment of the old Pearl Brewery into Pearl, hopes to start construction in 2028 at the all-concrete building, whose origins date back to the mid-1880s when Hippolyt Dittlinger and Peter Faust established Dittlinger Mills, a venture involving flour milling and a cotton gin.
Situated along the Comal River, the Dittlinger Mill had long been an industrial site, eventually becoming ADM Milling, whose owners kept operations going until spring 2023, when the mill was closed.
Oxbow envisions preserving and repurposing parts of the former mill in a mixed-use development that will feature residential, restaurant, office, retail and open green spaces.
City Council voted last May to rezone the property – bound by East Zink and East San Antonio streets, and North Market Avenue – in order to accommodate the proposed redevelopment.
Oxbow’s development director Omar Gonzalez urged meeting attendees to pitch ideas and concerns about the potential uses and aesthetics at a redeveloped Dittlinger Mill site. Gonzalez also said it will be important to incorporate the property’s history and New Braunfels’ heritage at the redevelopment, but that in any case, the finished product will be distinct from Pearl.
Many attendees voiced worries about traffic and parking during and after the construction phase of things. Other attendees said they hope Oxbow will make the new development fully accessible to all ages and all modes of transportation, including pedestrians and bicyclists.
According to Gonzalez, Oxbow will hold another community meeting in October, and that his company aims to talk with city officials about private/public partnership opportunities, including possible infrastructure improvements around the former mill site to support envisioned traffic, parking, drainage and utility needs. Gonzalez added that a public parking garage is planned for the redevelopment.
Veramendi
Christus Health has just begun construction of Christus New Braunfels Veramendi, a $28 million micro-hospital in the 2,400-acre mixed-use community.
According to a filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, the micro-hospital will contain 10 examination emergency rooms, three triage/intake rooms, three modality imaging suites, four inpatient beds, and four operating rooms, and additional hospital support spaces.
The healthcare facility will be located at 2332 Loop 337. Construction on the hospital is scheduled for completion in spring 2028.
Elsewhere in Veramendi, ASA Properties, the community developer, is slated to start construction on The Outlook, Veramendi’s second resident amenity center, later this year.
The 12,000-square-foot facility will include a clubhouse, resort-style pool, a sports court, pickleball courts, an open-air pavilion with cookout grills, and other recreational elements, near the future site of Word Park.
Latitude
New Braunfels firm GBMC Communities plans to build Latitude, a 45-bay flex-space commercial condominium development at 710 N. Walnut Ave., starting in spring 2027.
Plans for Latitude call for the construction of 12 buildings totaling 65,000 square feet on an unused 6.46-acre commercial space near downtown. Ranging in size between 1,000 and 7,500 square feet, the bays will be developed to accommodate budding small business owners who could use the flex space to accommodate their fledgling venture.
GBMC has built other residential condominium developments in New Braunfels, such as Agave Lofts, Dovetail, The Mercer, and Yaupon.
Solms Landing
Construction of the second phase of retail at this $500 million upscale mixed-use development is scheduled to start at the end of September, and involve $5.1 million in work on two new commercial buildings at Sophie Lane and Marie Bluff.
On the whole, Solms Landing will cover 98 acres, and offer retail, entertainment, single-family and multi-family residential, office and hotel spaces in the Creekside Crossing area.
The first phase of businesses at Solms Landing, such as Jeremiah’s Italian Ice, Swig, Playa Bowls, and Spoon + Fork Thai Kitchen are due to open soon.
The Gärten at Gruene
Local company Meyer Brant Custom Homes plans to develop The Gärten at Gruene, a mixed-use development that will add 4,800-plus square feet of office and retail space, two restaurants, and a wine bar in Gruene.
A TDLR filing shows that a one-year, $1.8 million construction project will start later this month on a 3-acre tract at 1563 Gruene Road, and will involve eight commercial buildings.
Lower Gruene Retail
Fredericksburg-based venture LGD 1 LLC is building Lower Gruene Retail, a $14 million mixed-use destination on an undeveloped 54-acre tract at 1551 Gruene Road.
Lower Gruene Retail will include a resort hotel, restaurants and retail spaces, homes, a conference center, community gathering spaces and a spa.
According to a TDLR filing, the one-year construction project was slated to start this past July.
Bank 1901
Karnes City National Bank is leading the creation of a $7 million mixed-use development on an undeveloped tract at 2009 FM 306 near Gruene.
The development will include a relocated New Braunfels KCNB bank branch, a Fast Friends Beer Co. taproom with an adjoining live music stage and other recreational amenities.
The one-year construction project was scheduled to begin this past July. The development name is inspired by the year when the Karnes City-based bank chain originated, and by the bank’s current rebranding efforts.
River’s Edge at Gruene
Local developer Clint Jones is overseeing the development of River’s Edge at Gruene on a 125-acre tract between Farm Road 306 and the Guadalupe River.
The mixed-use community will include more than 200 home lots accommodating a range of single-family residences, from riverfront and garden homes to farm and estate houses. There will also be a boutique hotel, roadside commercial space, as well as an events center, pedestrian bridge and a park that are limited to use by River’s Edge residents.
Gruene Court
New Braunfels City Council voted last January to rezone a 6-acre tract in the 800 block of Gruene Road to accommodate construction of a 150-room, three-story boutique hotel with a restaurant and an event space, and a revived Tavern in the Gruene.
There is no construction timeline as the city continues to review other aspects of the project.
