la Frontera In the News

Round Rock Leader

April 9, 2005

Movie theater a possibility in La Frontera

by Mistie Householter, Leader Staff

La Frontera's third retail development could include a movie theater, as well as retail shops and restaurants.

Georgia-based Cousins Properties Inc. will build their signature open-air retail center, Avenue at La Frontera, on 45 acres of land near County Road 172 and state Highway 45.

Avenue at La Frontera will include 270,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space. Charlie Quisenberry, regional director for retail division, said the center could hold approximately 50 stores and two or three big-box developments.

Industry sources said a movie theater may be in the plans for the development.

"That's a possibility," said Quisenberry.

He said the company is not prepared to release a list of tenants, but Cousins' other Avenue centers feature national tenants such as Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, J. Crew, Gap, Borders, Victoria's Secret and Ann Taylor.

Cousins Properties Inc. has five other Avenue retail developments in Georgia, Florida and California. A 800,000-square-foot retail center in Tennessee will open this fall as Cousins' largest Avenue project to date.

Although Cousins has developed office complexes in Texas, including the 250,000-square-foot Frost Bank in Austin, Avenue at La Frontera will be the first retail project in the state.

Cousins also recently established a Central Region retail office in Austin.

"Austin is a great market. We have a great presence here and we think this is a wonderful location to do our type of project," said Quisenberry.

Avenue at La Frontera will not be in Round Rock's city limits but rather in Austin's extraterritorial jurisdiction.

"That's one piece we wished we had," said Jim Stendebach, director of planning for the city of Round Rock.

Stendebach added that Round Rock still has 50 to 100 acres of undeveloped land in La Frontera.

La Frontera is a 330-acre mixed-use development with two retail developments, La Frontera Village and Vintage Plaza, office and residential space and a Marriott Hotel.