la Frontera In the News

Round Rock Leader

December 4, 2000

La Frontera opens doors to residents, hotel guests

by Bill Frisbie, Leader staff

The 328-acre La Frontera commercial hub at FM 1325 and Interstate 35 has been touted as a nice place to visit, but would anyone want to live there?

This answer, apparently, is yes, as the first wave of residents of the 411-unit Enclave apartment complex should begin moving in later this week, according to leasing specialist Nikki Johnston. Meanwhile, the La Frontera Marriott Conference Hotel – Round Rock's first full-service facility of its kind – has already tallied more than $500,000 in advance reservations since its sales office opened last month at 1111 N. Interstate 35, Suite 200.

I does not hurt to have a neighbor like Dell computer Corp. across the street, according to La Frontera-Marriott senior sales manager Jim Coppedge.

"A lot of our bookings have been from Dell vendors that work with them," Coppedge said. "It's (reservations) strictly for meetings. They will meet at the hotel and do presentations there."

With a targeted late April completion date, the 295-room hotel has reserved a total of 15 conference events and business meetings. The facility includes a 15,000 square-foot meeting space that, Coppedge added has already been booked for summer weddings.

"This is the seventh Marriott Hotel we've opened during the past six years," Coppedge said, "and each one opened at least two months prior to the original completions date."

Targeting business travelers, 220 guest rooms are dubbed the "Room that Works" in that each contains a high-speed data port, two-line phones, console table, writing desk, moveable desk lamps and an adjustable ergonomic chair. Amenities include an indoor pool, fitness center, a restaurant and lounge, plus a Concierge Level and lounge.

Testing the premise that folks are willing to not only spend the bucks but also spend the night at La Frontera, 45 units at the high-density Enclave Apartments were leased by the end of November. Monthly rents range from $765 to $1,305.

The complex is marked by a centrally located five-story parking garage where residents may leave their cars on the same level as their apartment. The Enclave also includes a private 16-seat movie theater, fitness center, basketball court, swimming pool and a 24-hour Internet café.

The importance that Round Rock officials place on both the hotel and apartment complex is evident in concessions made to each facility last year.

In 1999, the city's Planning and Zoning Commission approved a variance from a previous ordinance that had established density limits at 20 units per acre. At 35-unites per acre, the upscale Enclave is round Rock's most highly-dense development to date.

Earlier this year, the city council waived $112,000 in building and utility fees for the Marriott Hotel that Round Rock officials expect to recover in sales tax by the end of the hotel's first fiscal year. The fee waiver was the city's method of absorbing some of the additional costs that occurred when the hotel's property site shifted from La Frontera's southwest quadrant to the center of the development.

The La Frontera Marriott is expected to generate $5.2 million in sales taxes and $3.5 million for the Round rock Independent School District during its first seven years of operation.