Taylor County is experiencing one of the biggest RV booms in Texas history. The county’s largest project, Elmdale — a 2,313-site RV park rising along Elmdale Road North — is moving forward alongside another proposed development: the Cottages at The Frontier, a 1,000-unit RV park.
Both are being built primarily to house construction crews and executives working on nearby AI and data-center projects. But once those jobs wrap up, a big question hangs in the air: who will fill the thousands of newly built RV pads?
Elmdale RV Park: 2,300 slots for temporary housing
Approved by Taylor County commissioners in September 2025, Elmdale RV Park offers concrete pads ranging from 12×47 feet to 24×55 feet. The park includes utilities, an office/clubhouse, playground, dog park, and sand volleyball area. Developers say the park is mainly for construction workers building nearby AI and data centers. With 148 acres dedicated to the site, Elmdale could become one of the largest RV parks in the nation.
Cottages at The Frontier: Executive-only, purpose-built units
And the newest “on the block”? The proposed 1,000-unit Cottages at The Frontier. In addition to RV sites for the blue collar everyman, the outfit will house executives at the nearby Vantage Data Center in “cottages.” Monthly rents start at $1,550—although it wasn’t clear whether that rent buys execs a cottage, or the working class pays that for an RV slab.
Park amenities include full-service RV pads with utilities, landscaped common areas, gated entry, recreation rooms, dog parks, a walking path, BBQ pavilions, and courts for volleyball and pickleball. The park’s five-year initial lease with potential renewals could allow the community to operate for up to 20 years, giving developers flexibility to repurpose the units later.
The big question: What happens after the AI boom?
Both parks are tied to short-term demand. Once construction ends, the area could be left with thousands of mostly empty pads. Could these facilities attract traditional RV tourists, or be converted to housing for students, military families, or long-term residents? Local officials will need to consider infrastructure, zoning, and ongoing services to make the parks viable long-term.
Readers weigh in: Can Abilene attract long-term RV visitors?
Some RVtravel.com readers have already questioned whether Abilene can become a traditional RV destination. One noted: “Yes, Abilene is definitely too far north in Texas to be a snowbird destination.” Another commented: “It’s amazing scale, but will anyone be living there once the cranes are gone?”
For now, Taylor County officials and developers are betting on continued demand — but only time will tell whether these mega-RV parks become thriving communities or mostly empty placeholders.
Sources include Big Country Homepage
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RVT1238b
For anyone who has ever traveled I-20 through Abilene, the answer to the “end of the construction boom” is easy. Abilene is NOT a place where many Texans would want to move, especially “winter Texans.” Unless Abilene is planning to use 3300 RV sites and “cottages” (ie., park models) for a whole lot of tiny homes for low-income housing, it will become empty, tumbleweed-covered “streets” and crumbling concrete pads. Personally, neither summer or winter RV stays in Abilene are appealing–too hot, then far too cold and windy. They call winter storms “blue northers” for a reason–lips can quickly turn blue in them!
Abilene is not the only county adding rv parks. North of Abilene in Jones and Haskell counties, small rv parks are popping up wherever there is a vacant lot. Most don’t even have concrete pads. The only thing slowing down their construction is many of the small water supply systems were already at capacity before the boom and cannot add anymore connections.
It will be bulldozed and the land used for something else. They’ll probably bid out the rights to get all the copper wiring out and anything else that may be of second hand value…maybe all the electrical pedestals. All the costs for these two facilities is already in a financial plan that I can only assume has no long-term need as part of the assumptions.
Net…nothing to see here.
Who will fill my shoes when the workers leave?
A large Tiny Home community.
Don’t kid yourself. It will do well given the cost of housing all over the USA.
I think you have a good point on the park with cabins. A tiny home community could be a real possibility in today’s environment. 👍
Good place to house the homeless.
What happens when the construction folks leave ? Well, they can house the homeless in old rotten recreational Vehicles there. Maybe a “ten year plus” RV village for all the RV’s that have aged out of normal campgrounds.
Abilene, Texas. Nice city, beautiful Zoo, military base, and afterwards, Airstream needs a place in Texas for it’s Rally. Nothing wrong with tiny homes either.