Hill Country Lagoon

The master plan centers on a large Crystal Lagoon that functions as both the visual and recreational heart of the district. The lagoon is surrounded by a boardwalk environment featuring retail, dining, entertainment, and hospitality uses designed to create an active waterfront atmosphere similar to destination beach environments.

A public access beach anchors the east side of the lagoon, providing visitors with opportunities to relax and experience a resort-style waterfront environment without leaving Central Texas. Adjacent to the beach area, the plan introduces a series of event spaces including an amphitheater, outdoor gathering areas, and boardwalk retail that support concerts, festivals, and community programming.

The development concept also includes a major indoor waterpark positioned near the public access portion of the lagoon. The facility was envisioned as an approximately 80,000 square foot year-round attraction featuring surf machines, slides, lazy river experiences, and retractable roof technology that allows the space to operate in both indoor and outdoor configurations depending on the season.

A resort hotel anchors the southern portion of the site and provides the hospitality infrastructure needed to transform the district into a multi-day destination. The hotel includes conference space, restaurants, and resort amenities, allowing the district to host visitors traveling for recreation, events, and tourism.

The site plan was carefully organized to provide clear vehicular access, multiple parking areas, and flexible development parcels that can evolve as market demand grows. Retail pads, mixed use buildings, and lagoon facing development parcels are positioned around the central lagoon to create a walkable district that encourages visitors to explore the entire site.

‍

Project Luong approached the proposal not only as an architectural exercise but as a long-term development strategy for the City of Manor. The plan focuses on activating the core of the site first through the lagoon and resort programming, allowing surrounding development to grow incrementally over time as demand increases.

This phased approach creates an immediate destination that attracts visitors while giving the City flexibility to adapt surrounding parcels to future market conditions. Retail, residential, office, and hospitality uses can be introduced gradually, allowing the district to evolve without requiring the entire project to be built at once.

The lagoon serves as the primary economic catalyst for the development. By creating a unique attraction that cannot easily be replicated elsewhere in the region, the project positions Manor to capture tourism demand while also increasing the long-term value of adjacent land.

Through this proposal, Project Luong demonstrated how architecture, programming, and development strategy can work together to transform a single site into a regional destination capable of generating economic activity, community programming, and long-term growth for the City of Manor.