This Week in New Braunfels
Lyndon Ranch Affordable Housing Project Begins Excavation on Loop 337
Excavation has started on the Lyndon Ranch apartment project at 1801 Loop 337, on land owned by Austin-based Paravel Capital between Oakwood Baptist Church and River Road. The New Braunfels Housing Authority project was unanimously approved by City Council in May 2024 and will deliver approximately 303 units of affordable rental housing when complete.
City Council Approves Additional Funding for Kohlenberg Road Design
New Braunfels City Council unanimously approved an additional $73,823 to KCI Technologies for continued design work on the Kohlenberg Road project — the fifth contract change on record. The total design contract now stands at $1,857,033, up $548,629 from the figure approved in August 2023, with the overall $15.9 million project funded through the city's voter-approved 2023 Bond and the New Braunfels Economic Development Corp.
Fatal Crash on FM 725 Results in Immigration Detainers for Two Suspects
Two men accused in a head-on crash on FM 725 that killed a 27-year-old father and injured his 3-year-old daughter are now facing immigration detainers filed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The suspects, Rafael Alejandro Arreguin-Ramirez and Alejandro Aguillen-Acosta, were booked into Guadalupe County Jail on September 13, at which point the detainers were placed.
Man Dies Following Medical Emergency in the Comal River
A 63-year-old man died after suffering a medical emergency in the Comal River, according to the City of New Braunfels. The incident remains under active investigation by the New Braunfels Police Department.
Twenty Business Updates Recorded Across New Braunfels
Community Impact documented roughly 20 recent business changes in New Braunfels, including the temporary relocation of Steele Hyundai to 4261 I-35 while its new permanent building is under construction. New operators include KidStrong, a science-based kids' training program franchise brought to the area by local franchisee Manuel Torres.
Real Estate Market
The New Braunfels market continues to reflect the broader post-summer recalibration visible across Central Texas. The median home value in New Braunfels sits at $357,203 against an average household income of $94,067 — a ratio that leaves affordability workable by Texas standards but leaves little margin for overpriced listings in a rate-sensitive environment. The absence of a state income tax remains a structural advantage for buyers relocating from higher-tax states, though that tailwind doesn't change what a monthly payment looks like when mortgage rates stay elevated. Sellers who price correctly from the start are still moving homes; those testing the ceiling are sitting longer.
The groundbreaking at Lyndon Ranch is worth watching for what it signals about the rental side of the market. Three hundred and three affordable units entering the pipeline on Loop 337 won't close the gap overnight — construction timelines are long and demand has been persistent — but it does represent the city taking a measurable step toward addressing supply at the lower end of the market. For existing rental investors, that's a segment to monitor. It won't directly compete with market-rate or luxury rentals in the near term, but it does reflect that municipal appetite for density on that corridor is real.
Infrastructure investment tends to move quietly until it doesn't. The Kohlenberg Road project — now at $15.9 million total with design costs continuing to climb — is the kind of long-cycle improvement that takes years to show up in comp data but gradually shapes which neighborhoods become more accessible and, consequently, more attractive to buyers. Buyers with a five-to-ten year horizon should pay attention to where the bond money is flowing. Road improvements, utility extensions, and density approvals are typically the earliest indicators of where value builds next in a growing mid-sized Texas city like New Braunfels.