How Two Stepping, Goats, and Live Music Inspire Community | Ep 14 with Tom Woliver

In this episode of Smith Lane, Tom Woliver, founder and co-president of Oxland Group, dives into the importance of authentic placemaking. 

He shares his journey from landscape architecture to leading Oxland Group, a full-service capital investment and real estate development firm. Tom offers career insights, including the value of working with a trusted network, and adhering to a strict “no assholes” policy.

At the heart of Oxland’s philosophy is placemaking. Tom discusses Two Step Farm, one of Oxland’s standout projects—a community inspired by early Texas settlements that valued farming, music, and dance halls. 

This episode is all about creating spaces that resonate on a deeper level. Plus, Tom delivers one of the most memorable responses to our signature question: “What’s your Smith Lane?”

About Tom 

Tom Woliver strives to take placemaking to a whole new level. With nearly 30 years’ experience in the real estate industry, Woliver works passionately to unlock potential value, growth and impact in community development. 

In 2019, Woliver founded Oxland, a full-service capital investment and real estate development firm with principal-level expertise in land acquisition, entitlements, development, land transaction, and value creation. Through Oxland, Woliver spearheaded a variety of projects across the country offering a unique approach to capital investment and community building focusing on creating the highest and best use of the land.

Under his leadership, Oxland delivered the largest phase one in Dallas-Fort Worth history of 1,100 homesites at Painted Tree, its first development in McKinney, Texas. In its 2023 grand opening year, Painted Tree sold 448 homes making its debut at #36 on John Burns Top 50 Master Plans of 2023 and #47 on RCLCO’s Top Selling Master-Planned Communities. In August of 2023, Oxland announced the acquisition of 1,860 acres in the Houston market to be developed as Two Step Farm, a master-planned community of 4,000 homes. Oxland broke ground on Two Step Farm January 2024 and is planning for a grand opening event late 2025.

Prior to Oxland, Woliver served as Vice President and Director of Planning and Development at Hillwood, where he developed over 10,000 lots in various markets in Texas and across the US. Woliver was the driving force behind Hillwood’s “Live Smart” vision, a fresh holistic approach on developing the next generation of Master Planned Communities. At Hillwood, Woliver launched top-selling master-planned communities including Harvest, Union Park and Pecan Square in North Texas; Pomona in Houston; and Wolf Ranch in Georgetown.

Woliver is known by developers, homebuilders, and landowners alike as a pioneer in implementing various technological strategies, startups and strategic partnerships in the real estate industry. He has built a vast network of best-in-class consultants, vendors and relationships throughout the industry to be able to thoughtfully assemble the right team for the right project.

Woliver began his career as a Land Planner and Landscape Architect at TBG Partners in Austin, Texas. His role at TBG Partners shaped his ability to look at real estate solutions in a more unique, forward-thinking manner, including helping build and grow the Dallas office of TBG Partners.

Woliver is an active member on the National level of Urban Land Institute (ULI) and currently serves as the Chair for one of ULI’s Community Development Councils. He is an invited speaker for industry events and is often featured in articles on topics such as community development, technology, healthy living, and the food and real estate movement.

Woliver graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in Landscape Architecture. He and his wife Christina split their time between Colorado and Texas with their chocolate lab, Birdie.

Connect with Tom

LinkedIn

Oxland Group

Two Step Farm