If spring and early summer are wedding season, it seems the fall is anniversary season. At least it is around Lakeway.

The Lakeway Municipal Utility District (you know the MUD, with the big golf ball water tower) is celebrating 30 years of serving this community. The Village of the Hills also is marking a big one – 20 years since the Hills became an officially incorporated village. Even the Hill Country Galleria is getting in the anniversary action; it’s been 10 years since the Galleria’s grand opening.

We, too, are celebrating.  It was 16 years ago this fall that we began building homes under the JKD Builder brand. It was 2001, just after 9/11 and admittedly not the best time to be opening a business, as we were cautioned. But we had cemented our love of this community long before and knew this is where we wanted to live, raise our family and grow a business.

In reality, though, our roots in the Lake Travis community go back a lot further than that – all the way back to 1983, when as a young couple, we built our first home off Clara Van Drive. We had fallen in love with Lake Travis during college weekends camping and boating with family. Our first “big” purchase after graduating, in fact, was a brand-spanking new 15-ft. ski boat for what were a few thousand precious dollars to two young newlyweds. Weekends on the lake, we’d dream about someday living here and, with hard work and luck and more hard work, we made that dream come true within a few years.

Back then, there was one elementary school, no local hospitals or clinics, no grocery stores, and virtually no restaurants. It was a big deal when Dairy Queen (long since gone) opened; an even bigger deal when the new Mansfield Dam replaced the two harrowing lanes we used for commuting to town (for those aforementioned groceries, healthcare and restaurants).

A lot has changed about Lakeway since then. Today we boast a 6A school district with numerous award-winning schools and more campuses in the plans, a Level 4 trauma center, multiple grocery stores, and restaurants to meet virtually any culinary taste.  Sure, with growth comes challenges for any community, but we will solve those together just as we have in the past.

Indeed, the Lakeway-area landscape looks a lot different than it did 16 years ago, and we are humbled to have played a small part in those changes. We are proud that our homes in Lakeway, The Hills, Belvedere, Saddletree Ranch, Flintrock Falls, Falconhead, Woods of Lake Travis and numerous other neighborhoods have introduced dozen of others to the Lake Travis we fell in love with many years ago.

We can’t think of a better place to live and work. Thank you for being a part of our sweet 16.

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If you are looking for quality construction by a builder whose clients trust, respect AND consider a friend, talk with us. Better yet, talk with our clients.