Why Dripping Springs' Target Has Two Timelines, and What's Really Coming to U.S. 290

"We're excited to bring an easy, affordable and convenient shopping experience to new guests in the Dripping Springs community with this new Target store," a company spokesperson told Community Impact in February. The confirmation was clear. The calendar has been harder to pin down. In April, KXAN reported that construction was "officially underway" and expected to wrap up in November 2027. Then on October 12, MySA reported that store construction is slated to start in February 2027 and finish by late January 2028.

Both reports are accurate, because they describe two different state filings. Read alongside the other projects filed along U.S. 290 this year, those filings show the order in which the corridor will actually change. The first new place to open its doors is likely to be a steakhouse in a space Belterra Village diners already know. The big-box stores follow in 2028.

The Work on West 290 Is the Site, Not the Store

Commercial projects in Texas register with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, and the Target at The Village at Dripping Springs has two separate entries. Here they are side by side.

The first filing was registered March 18, 2026, and covers the site improvements. KXAN's April 29 report described that phase, and its $7.5 million figure and November 2027 finish both come from this site-only record. The second filing, registered in May, covers the store building, and MySA identified it at the time as a second filing, separate from the March site work.

For a resident driving past this fall, that means the work under way now is preparing the site. Under the filed schedule, work on the building doesn't start until February 2027, and the construction window closes at the end of January 2028. These dates are estimates filed with the state, not confirmed milestones, and MySA has noted that TDLR dates can change. Even so, the filings suggest the store opens after January 2028.

One Store, Two Street Numbers

Community Impact places the store near the Belterra neighborhood, between CVS and Dripping Springs Racquet Club, as the anchor of The Village at Dripping Springs on a 26.45-acre lot. Target's own upcoming-stores list gives the address as 13550 West U.S. Highway 290 and the size as about 145,000 square feet. Both state filings use 13786 W. US 290, Building 100, Suite 101. The 13550 number is how the center is marketed. The 13786 number is the building address in the state record.

The Target is not the only building planned at The Village. When KXAN first reported the permit in September 2025, it identified Houston-based Property Commerce as the developer. That Hays County permit covered site preparation and foundation work plus about 18,500 square feet of additional retail space. Community Impact reports that the company has developed more than 80 shopping centers, and more than 43 of them are anchored by a Target.

The site's position also shapes which rules apply. In its April coverage, KXAN reported that the property falls outside the City of Dripping Springs' regulatory authority, so city tree and landscaping ordinances do not apply. Precinct 4 Commissioner Walt Smith told the station that the county's role is mainly plat review, floodplain rules, some septic permitting and fire code. He added that the site's water comes from the West Travis County Public Utility Agency, not from wells. One resident told KXAN that the store will be "a lot closer than South Austin." Others raised water, traffic and native trees as concerns.

Headwaters East Runs on a Later Clock, Under City Rules

The second large project on 290 is on the north side of the highway, and the city reviews it. Dripping Springs planning staff place the Headwaters Commercial Tract between Headwaters Boulevard and Canyonwood, north of U.S. 290 and inside city limits, according to a city planning packet for an Aug. 25, 2026 meeting. MySA describes the 43-acre commercial center as part of the 166-acre Headwaters master-planned community.

Its state filing, TABS2027000739, lists $20 million and 300,000 square feet, with Oryx Land Holding LLC as owner. The filed construction window runs from January 1, 2027, to August 1, 2028. That schedule starts a month before Target's building work and ends six months after it.

The city's site plan shows how the space is divided. It lists a 94,000-square-foot anchor and junior-anchor pads of 16,501, 25,001 and 50,000 square feet. All listed uses add up to 282,320 square feet, a little under the TDLR figure. According to MySA, citing the Austin Business Journal, Academy Sports + Outdoors plans a store of about 50,000 square feet in Headwaters East, at U.S. 290 and Headwaters Boulevard. That matches the size of the largest junior pad, although the city's plan does not name any tenant. No public filing so far names the 94,000-square-foot anchor or gives Academy an opening date.

The First New Door Opens in a Familiar Space

While the two retail centers wait for 2027 groundbreakings, the nearest new opening on this stretch requires no new building. Proper Ash Steakhouse has filed to take over 136 Drifting Wind Run, Suite 101, in Belterra Village. Local Eats reports that Le Vacher served French-inspired food in that space for two years. Austin-based Garbo's Lobster opened there in April 2024 and closed its Dripping Springs location this past January.

The state record, TABS2027001314, describes a roughly $500,000 renovation of the 5,173-square-foot space: light cosmetic remodeling and new kitchen equipment, with no change of use. The filed window runs from Oct. 15, 2026, to June 15, 2027, and the owner listed is Blue Harvest South, LLC, with a Nashville address. According to MySA, citing the Austin Business Journal, plans include live music and room for about 160 guests, patio included. The restaurant's placeholder site promises steak and "a carefully curated wine selection." No menu, chef or opening date has been announced. Local Eats expects an opening in mid-to-late 2027. That would put Proper Ash about half a year ahead of Target's filed completion.

The Corridor Calendar, in the Order It Actually Happens

Put the announcements in order and the next two years look like this:

1. Oct. 15, 2026 to June 15, 2027. Proper Ash's filed renovation window in Belterra Village.
2. Oct. 17. Briggs Distilling Co. was scheduled to open Oct. 17 at 121 Brownson Lane in Driftwood. It serves rye and bourbon, cocktails, mocktails and coffee, and has a children's area and kids' menu.
3. Through Nov. 5. The fourth annual Día de los Muertos Community Ofrenda stands at Dripping Springs Ranch Park, 1042 Event Center Drive. The city invites visitors to bring photos, marigolds, flameless candles and monarch butterfly decorations.
4. Wednesdays through Nov. 25. The Dripping Springs Farmers Market runs from 3 to 6 p.m. in the Ranch Park Vendor Hall on Oct. 28 and Nov. 4, 11, 18 and 25.
5. Jan. 1, 2027. Headwaters East's filed construction start.
6. Feb. 5, 2027. Target's filed start for the store building.
7. Nov. 19, 2027. Target's filed completion for site improvements.
8. Jan. 31, 2028. Target's filed completion for the store building.
9. Aug. 1, 2028. Headwaters East's filed completion.

Not all of the near-term additions are on 290. Beerburg Beer Garden opened May 28 at 13476 Fitzhugh Road, with a native-landscaped outdoor space and weekend hours from 2 to 8 p.m. Until early 2028, new additions in and around Dripping Springs will come in this form: a distillery, a beer garden, a seasonal market, and a steakhouse moving into a restaurant space that already exists. The Target and Headwaters East buildings come after that, on dates every filing still lists as estimates.

If you're weighing a home or a piece of land near Belterra or Headwaters and want to understand what these timelines mean for that particular property, Topper Real Estate can walk through it with you. Schedule your Hill Country consultation.