la Frontera In the News

Austin Business Journal

December 13, 2002

$8M retail project on tap
Austin developer attracts bank, electronics retailer for addition to La Frontera

by Mary Alice Kaspar, Austin Business Journal Staff

An $8 million retail expansion is planned for Round Rock's La Frontera project.

Austin-based Robert D. Wunsch Development is behind the 40,000-square-foot Vintage Plaza at La Frontera project, which will be on 4 acres with frontage along the planned State Highway 45 North. RDW Holdings Inc. does business as Robert D. Wunsch.

Initially, a four-story office building was set for 2 acres at SH 45 North and La Frontera Boulevard. But Tommy Tucker, president and general counsel of Robert D. Wunsch, says market conditions prompted the company to rethink its plans. Tucker says retail projects are in higher demand now.

Bob Wunsch, president of the company, says the site's visibility has made it popular among prospective tenants. He expects the space to be 90 percent leased by next summer.

So far, two tenants have signed up, Tucker says. Bank One Corp. has agreed to lease a little more than 4,000 square feet for a branch.

The second tenant will be one of the Austin area's first Tweeter stores. Tweeter sells mid- to high-end audio and video consumer electronics products.

Anne-Marie Boucher, a spokeswoman for Canton, Mass.-based Tweeter Home Entertainment Group, says the company is scheduled to open two stores in the Austin area in 2003.

The first store, set to open in March, will be at Northwest Austin's The Arboretum shopping center. The La Frontera store is expected to open next fall, Tucker says.

A typical Tweeter store employs 14 people.

Tucker says Robert D. Wunsch Development considers the La Frontera site to be one of the best locations in the area, thanks to SH 45 North's planned links with I-35 and MoPac Expressway.

"In our opinion, we look at the Vintage Plaza at La Frontera as the crown jewel," Tucker says.

La Frontera itself is viewed by many as a crown jewel for Round Rock.

Nancy Yawn, director of public affairs and business development for the City of Round Rock, says additional retail shops in La Frontera are right in line with the city's plan for economic development.

The City of Round Rock and Round Rock Chamber of Commerce teamed up in mid-2000 to hire AngelouEconomics Inc. to craft the economic development plan. Angelos Angelou, principal with the economic development consulting firm, has said Round Rock needs to diversify its economic base and become less dependent on the area's largest corporate employer, Dell Computer Corp.

Yawn says the study helped identify more demand for retail than the local market provided.

Don Martin, one of three partners in Austin-based La Frontera LP, says 860,000 square feet of retail space as well as office buildings and a hotel already have been built in the 330-acre development.

Robert D. Wunsch Development displayed creativity by combining two 2-acre pad sites to make its retail project a reality, Martin says.

Rodger Anderson of United Commercial Realty and Jim Boles of Summit Commercial Industrial Properties Inc. are the listing brokers for Vintage Plaza at La Frontera.