Poor Jonestown (Austin: city hall, homes, neighborhoods)

[Nerda]

Wanted to bring this post back to life a bit.

Any new perceptions on this little town, all these years later?

[cBach]

Okay, I have to chime in.

Jonestown had a quiet beginning. After Lake Travis was impounded, Jonestown went from being "not too far" from Austin to being "quite far" as there is no bridge over Lake Travis.

Developers at the time looked at Lago Vista and Jonestown to determine which of the north shore communities they would develop. They chose Lago Vista mainly because the terrain is slightly more forgivable.

What this meant is that there was not much "change" in Jonestown for years and even into 2010 it was fairly isolated. Secondly the Jonestown PD was only recently formed, and I second that it was mainly Keystone type cops there.

Because of isolation and the poverty common in isolated rural Texas towns (lack of jobs, poor education) it was ripe for all kinds of debauchery. There's a reason Devil's Hollow is located within the city of Jonestown. People can get drunk, naked, and do all kinds of things and there's very little chance the police will do squat about it.

The terrain is very hilly and treed with cedar mainly. People lived in isolated homes with lots of land. Alcoholism and drug addiction was very common and the whole area served as the meth labs for the whole Austin area as the police did little about it.

In the last few years, development has encroached upon the town. Notice Toll Brothers at Travisso. It is right on the edge, but the developers didn't dare go into the town.

However, as land start to run out, Jonestown's location will prove to be irresistible to developers as it's right on the lake. The prognosis is good.

[ScoPro]

Guess my nephew got ahead of the "rich" crowd when he built his nice house with pool up on White Rim Trail 25 years ago.

[Nerda]

Surprises me to hear this. Jonestown is so attractive, and considering how long it takes to get anywhere within Austin because of traffic already, the distance to Jonestown isn’t any more difficult in comparison to dripping springs in the south and Spicewood to the west, as far as desirable but rural spots are concerned.

Plus the school districts are awesome. It’s just so shocking that it’s taken this long for anyone to notice it again. It’s literally right off the lake and has an incredible park. It all looks so clean. I still can’t believe my family found a home on a 1/4 acre within walking distance to the park (and the lake by default) for under $180k as close to Austin as we are.

[Moonlady]

The main problem with Jonestown is that it's a bit out there, but it doesn't have a NEW! MODERN! MASTER PLANNED! feel to it which most people are looking for these days and willing to go that far out to get (like Travisso). Frankly, the dubious history notwithstanding, I like the feel of modern day Jonestown but then I'm not a fan of master planned anythings. But since it's only a 10-15 minutes to Cedar Park for shopping and dining, it's not really that bad unless you are commuting into Austin proper.

It has some pretty lakefront and lake view properties and some really nice parks. I don't know what kind of ordinances or building regulations they have so you'd want to check into that before building a nice home without knowing what could be built next to you.

I do think its time is coming - hard to tell if that's 2 years or 10 though.

[Nerda]

I hope those monster planned hyper modern developments stay away. I’m just shocked that I don’t hear about it as often as I do the other rural areas around Austin.

[cBach]

Originally Posted by Nerda

I hope those monster planned hyper modern developments stay away. I’m just shocked that I don’t hear about it as often as I do the other rural areas around Austin.

Well one good thing about Jonestown is that the property is owned by a whole lot of landowners, not just one rich landowner. The reason you see developments like Steiner Ranch is that the Steiner family owned a large plat of land and it was easy to just go from ranching to a master planned community which gives the most "bang for the buck" as you can stack houses close to each other rather easily.

Jonestown was always a smallish town and there weren't the cattle ranches as the land just wasn't good for grazing. The terrain was also difficult to build in and so it favored more of a development similar to some small town in Appalachia.

So a giant master planned community just probably isn't going to happen. Not when Cedar Park & Leander nearby has plenty of former "farm tracts" that are easier to convert to tract housing.

[cBach]

Originally Posted by Nerda

I still can’t believe my family found a home on a 1/4 acre within walking distance to the park (and the lake by default) for under $180k as close to Austin as we are.

There's a reason it's that cheap. I tried to explain but once you live there you understand.

Hmm looks like somebody cleaned up the wikipedia entry, no reference to crime anymore.

[Nerda]

But all the crime seems to have dissipated. And with the kinds of school districts that the area is zoned to, it’s just not expected that this place be affordable. It's, at most, 15 mins from the nearest HEB. So it isn’t so removed from civilization. And only 20 miles from downtown Austin. Spicewood is 35. So many younger families that I know within the city of Austin would LOVE to transfer themselves and their families to areas that aren’t smack dab in the city, are close to the lake, somewhere near the hills, and on lots of land- all while avoiding those McMansion style developments. Spicewood used to be grungy seeming to people, but now trying to buy anything remotely close to the prices I can find in Jonestown is impossible. Plus- they don’t have the great school districts.

So I’m not sure what I’m missing other than the fact that, a decade ago there were meth heads cooking around the corner and the police force was new. Now. It seems like a quiet, peaceful place to me just waiting to be noticed. Plus that park, Jones Bros, is just amazing.

[cBach]

The background behind the park....

Well first off you should know that because of the terrain, there are many valleys in the area. Almost every valley lies below the jurisdiction of the LCRA which means it is "open land" that you can hike on. That makes it rare among Texas.

For Jones Bros the community was making its own "rock dam" and they just decided to make it a park, since it was a de facto park anyway. The park is prone to flooding and it's alright.

You almost sound like a real estate developer.

Jonestown is an okay place if you want a family home that is cheap near the water, but don't expect the value of your house to increase very much. That's just the way it is and it's been that way.

If you plan to stay 10-15 years then yes it's probably a good investment.