Real Estate Photographer in Bulverde, TX

Oakfire Ridge, a private country club in development in Bulverde, Texas, 28 miles north of San Antonio, is set to break ground on an extensive list of exciting amenities this summer, according to a recent Facebook post shared by developers in late February.

The $50 million development, though, hasn't been well-received by some living in the small town, commonly referred to as the "Front Porch of the Hill Country."

Some locals say they are concerned about the amount of water the project will consume — a concern principal developer Sean Tipton, whom many may know from his success with Airrosti Rehab Centers, acknowledges. Tipton tells MySA that his team is working to address those concerns while balancing growth, with an emphasis on restoring a sense of community to the small Texas town.

Located on a 49-acre "sanctuary" between Boerne and New Braunfels along U.S. 281, the project will feature a full-service spa and hospitality lounges, multiple luxury pools, a nine-hole executive golf course, and a 25,000-square-foot entertainment putting green. Other amenities include a premier sports complex with 10 to 12 pickleball courts, an underground speakeasy and a five-star steakhouse called Oakfire Prime.

The club has been in the works for a couple of years, and its concept centers on a vision of hospitality that draws guests in in a more complex way.

"The idea of it is that, really, hospitality is something you have to participate in, not something you just receive," Tipton said. "Every one of our members is signing up to participate in our hospitality. The idea of being part of a club where people are participating and you just feel good, everyone is kind of looking out for each other, and sharing hospitality with each other. So, that's what we're building here, and the amenities are second to that."

The steakhouse and the speakeasy will come first, set to open in 2027, and the full club experience will open in 2028.

Tipton said tours began just a few weeks ago, and there is already rising interest in membership. But when his crew announced the news via Facebook last week, the response was split between excitement and concern.

"Here come the tourists. It’s only a short time before all is sucked into SA," Facebook user Diane Seabolt Elrod commented under the post.

"My concern is water. How can Canyon Lake support a golf course when there isn't enough water to even water our plants?," another concerned local shared.

Tiption said his team has put $2 million into revitalizing the land, which he described as an "overgrazed goat track," with overgrown ash juniper patches that worsen drought conditions.

The area once had no grass and no healthy soil, according to Tipton. His team brought in soil and grass, and more than 900 mature oak trees. Now, when it rains heavily, the water no longer rushes out of the creek.

Instead, it soaks into the ground, creating a natural filtration system that cleans the water and helps replenish the underground water supply, Tipton said.

The project will produce 150 high-paying jobs.

This is going to be a great place to work," the developer said, citing his past employee satisfaction ratings at Airrosti. "Imagine working at a place where the customers are giving back that hospitality."

Membership pricing is not available at this time, but Tipton said based on what the developers are building, it will be affordable.

"I like to build things that make an impact in people's lives," he said. "We're building spaces where people can hang out and really hang out and really create community. Not an old, stodgy club, where you go and sit in a banquet hall to eat. That is the number one thing that we are excited about."

Below are renderings of the the upcoming country club.

Plus, downtown’s Old Village owner helps local businesses survive the pandemic

At Texas Carpet Baggers in Bulverde, a small town 25 miles north of San Antonio, Becky Feeley designs and sells custom, handcrafted handbags made from fine leathers and fabrics. When the COVID-19 pandemic forced retail shops to close temporarily, Feeley, who runs her store in the downtown artisan hub called Old Village, feared she would have to close her business for good. “I’m having a hard time promoting bags because they mean nothing right now with all the horribleness and the pain,” she says. “It’s been hard to walk the ethical line between real suffering and trying not to lose my business.” Jane Wood, who has owned Old Village for the last 60 years, and her grandson Charlie Wood, who helps run the complex, decided to assist the village’s 16 businesses with their rent during the pandemic, assuring that they won’t be kicked out. “Charlie told us to take rent off of our plates until we can get through this, which gives us the energy to be strong and push through,” Feeley says. This break on rent has allowed Feeley enough time and creative energy to make 50 face masks, which she gave away in exchange for donations to Provisions, a local food bank. Feeley raised $600 for the food bank, and she is now transitioning back to making bags in hopes that her customers will be able to return to the majority women-owned shops and restaurants at Old Village. While there isn’t a set reopening date for all of the businesses, many, including Texas Carpet Baggers, are serving customers curbside. “There is hope in the Village,” she says. “We’re fighters, and we’re supported by a great landlord.” Provisions has seen its operations change significantly since COVID-19, as many of the volunteers are elderly and staying at home. “I’ve lost about half of my volunteer staff,” says Weslea Miller, the executive director of Provisions. “But every day someone calls and asks if they can come volunteer, or send their teen to volunteer.” The food pantry has shifted to minimum-contact drive-up service, where volunteers bring food to vehicles. In the last nine business days of March, Provisions signed up 56 new families in need. “That’s not a huge number, but considering we’re only open 20 hours a week, that’s a lot for us in a nine-day period,” Miller says. “And I anticipate that if guidelines loosen up, we’ll start seeing more people for a longer period of time. We’re here and happy to help, and boy, have we had great support from the community.”

After the announcement went out that schools were to close for the rest of the school year, Reverend Lupita Ecoff, executive director of Childrens Centre Los Niños, began receiving phone calls from people worried because their children wouldn’t receive school meals. The nonprofit, which usually provides weekend care packages of breakfasts and lunches for impoverished children, is now providing weekly care packages to ensure those in need are receiving protein, dairy, produce, and essential health items. In the last three weeks, Childrens Centre Los Niños went from serving 50 families to 100 families with weekly care packages. “The families we were seeing were impoverished and free- and reduced-lunch families,” Ecoff says. “Now, since COVID-19, it’s families whose parents are unemployed and seniors who live alone and haven’t left their houses at all.” Childrens Centre Los Niños, which is accepting online donations, has seen an increase in support from citizens volunteering to make meals and collecting clothing and produce. “It’s an interesting network of people coming together,” Ecoff says. “One retired couple wanted to adopt a family during COVID, with an emphasis on a family with teens. And we have a high school senior who volunteered to take meals out to families with parents who were working or don’t have transportation. I’m grateful because our community is seeing the need and responding without any prompting.”