The first thing you notice at 510 Cater Drive is the view — it’s impossible to miss.
The downtown Austin skyline fills the frame of the living room’s floor-to-ceiling windows. That view follows you through the home, ever-present as you mix a drink in the bar area, relax on the patio or enjoy light reading in the upstairs library.
Back when the owners built the house in 2002, the Texas Capitol stood out among a handful of other downtown buildings. That stately view has since been traded for the forest of illuminated downtown high-rises that now define the city.
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Just as the character of downtown has changed over the years, so too has the house itself. Owners Scott Stewart and Joe Morales built the home in 2002, but its nearly 6,000-square-foot blueprint became a canvas for interior design and a hub for entertainment.
Listed for $8.995 million by Michael Reisor at Compass Real Estate, the property is tucked away on a rare acre in the Zilker neighborhood. Its privacy in such a dense, centrally located neighborhood is especially unique. A ravine runs between the house and its neighbors, with thick vegetation filling the space, and a koi pond flows along the side of the home. In the summer, Stewart and Morales said the trees around them obscure their view of neighbors to the west.
The entryway at 510 Cater Drive, a $9 million home in the Zilker neighborhood, July 22, 2026.
Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman
510 Cater Drive, a $9 million home in the Zilker neighborhood, July 22, 2026.
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The stove in the kitchen at 510 Cater Drive, a $9 million home in the Zilker neighborhood, July 22, 2026.
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A view of the entryway from the upstair landing at 510 Cater Drive, a $9 million home in the Zilker neighborhood, July 22, 2026.
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An upstairs sunroom off the primary bedroom features floor-to-ceiling windows at 510 Cater Drive, a $9 million home in the Zilker neighborhood, July 22, 2026.
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A big room at 510 Cater Drive, a $9 million home in the Zilker neighborhood, July 22, 2026.
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An outdoor fire pit sits next to the pool, with a view of the downtown skyline, at 510 Cater Drive, a $9 million home in the Zilker neighborhood, July 22, 2026.
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The dining room at 510 Cater Drive, a $9 million home in the Zilker neighborhood, July 22, 2026.
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A downstairs bedroom at 510 Cater Drive, a $9 million home in the Zilker neighborhood, July 22, 2026.
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Colorful tiling decorates the staircase at 510 Cater Drive, a $9 million home in the Zilker neighborhood, July 22, 2026.
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The bathtub in the primary bathroom at 510 Cater Drive, a $9 million home in the Zilker neighborhood, July 22, 2026.
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Flooring at 510 Cater Drive, a $9 million home in the Zilker neighborhood, July 22, 2026.
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Decorations on the shelving in front of unique tiling at 510 Cater Drive, a $9 million home in the Zilker neighborhood, July 22, 2026.
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An outdoor dining area in the backyard at 510 Cater Drive with a view of the skyline, July 22, 2026.
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“The view that 510 Cater has is just tremendously special in its orientation, and that’s before we even get to the house, which they built very thoughtfully and in a way that we don’t see in Zilker very often,” Reisor said. “With this estate-feeling home, really capturing the view, but also still feeling very warm, but also contemporary, I think they did a great job.”
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Standing outside, the busy traffic of nearby Barton Springs Road is surprisingly muted. It’s easy to forget that the home is situated with easy access to everything the city has to offer.
The four-bedroom, five-bathroom home offers four garages, multiple living areas, a pool and spa, a gym, a library and an assortment of outdoor spaces, including several patios and terraces.
Tiling and textures help define the unique character of 510 Cater Drive, a $9 million home in the Zilker neighborhood, July 22, 2026.
Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman
A bespoke home
Since building the house, Stewart and Morales have gradually remodeled almost every room and introduced furnishings that were specifically chosen for each space rather than pulled from a catalog. Some artwork will move with them, but much of the furniture was made specifically for the house. A sectional, for example, was built to fit the dimensions of its room.
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A new roof was installed in 2022, and within the past three years, the house was outfitted with new air conditioning systems and a new hot water heater.
Various phases of architecture and design work in the home was completed by Austin locals, including David Wilkes, Jay Corder, Mark Cravotta and Kasey McCarty.
“What people don’t realize when they’re walking up to the house is the scale of it, and that was by design,” Stewart said. “We didn’t want it to be so ostentatious as you’re walking up to it. We wanted to be kind of like a subtle surprise when you walk into the house.”
Even the transitions between spaces are deliberate. The house steps up and down as you move through it, creating a distinct sense of place while maintaining the flow of the layout.
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The kitchen is the most recent interior remodel, featuring a dramatic island with a waterfall edge. The rest of the room was built around that island, including a six-foot-long light fixture imported from Spain.
A downstairs bedroom at 510 Cater Drive, a $9 million home in the Zilker neighborhood, July 22, 2026.
Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman
Custom tilework on the walls complements other custom touches, including doors with translucent panels in the ground floor primary suite and a black glass wall in the dining room.
In the hallway leading to the guest suite, one tiled wall pattern represents a starburst, with heavier colors in the center lightening as the artwork extends outward.
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The bar is perhaps the best example of how the owners approached the house. What was once an outdoor patio and fireplace was enclosed in 2014 and turned into a “glass box” of sorts, with the bar inside acting almost like a display.
Upstairs, the primary suite has been given an entire floor of its own. Imported tigerwood flooring leads up a flight of steps to the library, which could also serve as a nursery or office.
The primary bathroom suite was designed to feel like a private spa, with a large soaking tub, a generous shower and a walk-in closet. Tones of amber and chestnut glow through the room thanks to layered stained-glass wall paneling.
The bedroom itself is large and inviting with an attached sitting room overlooking the ravine below, giving the feeling of a treehouse. The terrace off the bedroom has one of the best views in the house.
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A bar on the ground floor at 510 Cater Drive, a $9 million home in the Zilker neighborhood, July 22, 2026.
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Entertaining made easy
Morales and Stewart said the home was designed primarily with entertaining in mind.
The backyard makes that easy. An outdoor fire pit is sunken into the ground like a conversation pit, while a patio dining area sits steps away from the grill. The infinity pool and spa anchor the yard, with the downtown skyline stretching out beyond them.
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Inside, the bar — once an outdoor patio — gives guests another place to gather, and the open layout allows people to move easily between the kitchen, living spaces and outdoor areas.
With so many gathering places around the home, it’s easy to imagine a range of gatherings, from intimate get-togethers to large events, taking place on the property.
The backyard pool overlooks the Austin skyline at 510 Cater Drive, a $9 million home in the Zilker neighborhood, July 22, 2026.
Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman
“There are so many entertaining spaces that we can easily accommodate 100, 120 people,” Stewart said. “We wanted an open floor concept so that regardless of where you are in the house, you’re still very much a part of the celebrations that are going on.”
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That was part of the appeal of building a home from the ground up. Stewart and Morales could consider how they wanted to live in it, and how they wanted other people to experience it.
The result is a large home made intimate by its intentionality.
Agent Michael Reisor said he hopes the home will appeal to estate buyers who may not realize that a home in the Zilker neighborhood can offer so much in terms of privacy, space and views.
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“Typically, what we see in Zilker at the higher end of the price, it goes far more cold and contemporary,” Reisor said. “We get larger white boxes. Many of them don’t have any sort of view at all, or maybe they only have a view from a third floor rooftop deck.”
The house is finished. The view is changing. For the first time in its history, the home is ready for new buyers who will continue to breathe life into it.