Close your eyes. Picture yourself in a neighborhood of 3D-printed houses, anchored by a surf lagoon and a wave pool. Picture yourself floating down a lazy river while your family plays a round at the nearby 13-hole golf course. Picture yourself in a Nordic spa, releasing all that tension built up in your body.
Now open your eyes, because that neighborhood is real — and it’s almost ready for move-ins.
The Desperado is a surf-anchored luxury residential community in Waco, Texas, set to be built on 450 acres next to the water park Waco Surf. Complete with 88 3D-printed homes — 44 standalone and 44 duplex townhomes — along with several amenities, this unique neighborhood feels like something out of the future.
Built by construction company ICON and designed by Firmah Architecture, The Desperado’s relationship with Waco Surf is explicitly described as an extension instead of a separate project, which has informed the overall selling points of the community.
For one, all homeowners will have direct access to the surf lagoon and wave pool, where “residents will be able to drop into a wave whenever the mood strikes.” Other amenities throughout the surf park include “the world’s longest” lazy river, pickleball courts, a 13-hole golf course, fishing lakes, camping sites and restaurants.
Deep in the heart of Texas, the neighborhood was designed to mix seemingly unrelated motifs, blending “Texas ranch life” with “high-level surf,” along with a dash of “intentional living,” according to the official press release. What’s more, the entire community will be car-free internally; residents will get around using golf carts, bikes or foot paths. A step into a quieter future, perhaps?
“Spreading the joy of surfing has always been the soul of Waco Surf. Watching someone ride a wave for the first time and seeing that look on their face, especially a kid’s, is why we do all of this,” says David Taylor, owner and co-president of Waco Surf.
“The Desperado is the natural next step. We wanted to create a place where families can actually live inside that feeling, not just visit it. A community where your kids grow up around water, around the outdoors, around people who share that same love for life. That’s what we’re building.”
Construction is set to begin in summer 2026, with move-ins expected in summer 2027, according to the latest statement in April of this year. Between you and me, reader, it will be interesting to see how communities like The Desperado may influence future residential developments in other parts of the world.
“There is a moment, witnessed again and again at Waco Surf, when someone rides a wave for the very first time and emerges from the water with pure joy beaming from their face,” Waco Surf’s official announcement reads. “That moment is the guiding star of everything Waco Surf has built, and it’s the beating heart of what comes next.”
