la Frontera In the News
Austin American Statesman
June 28, 1999
La Frontera puts roads before retail
Project will bring intense development to busy intersection
by Janet Jacobs, American Statesman Staff
ROUND ROCK It will be a dusty summer for the residents who live near Interstate 35 and FM 1325, but developers of the massive 328acre La Frontera project are promising it will be worth the trouble.
The project, which today breaks ground on its internal road network, promises to be worth an estimated $500 million at buildout on what was once Tom Kouri's dairy farm.
On the plans for the project are 115 acres of retail more than any other nonenclosed shopping development in the Austin area -- seven sitdown restaurants, 4 million square feet of office space, a 300 room, eightstory hotel expected to be the largest hotel in Williamson County, a 16 screen theater and 400 "urbanstyle" apartment homes.
The project has been such a success that it surprised even the developers, who initially planned only 40 acres of retail. But the retail partners, David Berndt and his Cleveland based investment partners, Developers Diversified REIT, returned to the developers to ask for more space and even bought some adjacent land to bring the total retail space to 115 acres, according to broker Daniel Listrom.
"We already had plans for more than half of that to go to smaller third parties, and (Berndt and partners) came back and said, 'We think we can provide an official masterplanned retail area, if you'll let us,' " Listrom said.
Groundbreaking on the retail development could begin as soon as August, with shoppers in the aisles by March, planners said.
Location, combined with the growth of the region and the proximity to Dell Computer Corp., are attracting clients, said Kelly Shaw, vice president for retail sales with Trammell Crow.
Still, considering that the intersection has a reputation for some of the worst traffic congestion in the Austin area, developer Don Martin was quick to point out that road construction will start first. Martin, along with Bill Smalling and Bill Boecker of Fort Worth are the project's managing partners; Ed Bass of Fort Worth is the majority owner.
"A lot of what Round Rock wanted to see is solutions for this intersection," Martin said. The solutions include five long internal streets, including a Hesters Crossing Road tie in that will allow drivers to avoid the I35 and FM 1325 intersection. The internal roads are being paid for by the developers at a cost of about $5 million, Martin said.
City officials told the developers they couldn't open the stores without the roads being completed, Martin said.
"We would have been irresponsible if we hadn't concentrated on that," said Joe Vining, director of planning and development for the City of Round Rock. "They're logical requirements for the development of the tract."
Traffic was the crux of the city's "questions and concerns" when the developers presented the idea more than a year ago, said Mayor Robert Stluka.
"The first thing they're doing is developing roads through that area and the infrastructure before they start building, which I think is an excellent idea, and the way it ought to be done," Stluka said. "So there's some relief before things get built"
Another section of the development would feature a 400unit apartment complex. The plans call for the buildings to be three or four stories high and built around a central parking garage. In terms of density, the apartments will be 35 units per acre, double that of many Round Rock area complexes, and about the same as the Gables Central Park in Central Austin, according to project consultant Charles Heimsath of Capitol Market Research.
The density is something new for Round Rock. In another time, it wouldn't have been welcome, Vining admitted.
"If it had been 10 years ago, the response would have been different, but the maturity of the city is at the point where demands and expectations are a bit different," Vining said.
Still to be sold are some retail sites, the office spaces and what developers are hoping will be a big grocery center along the lines of Central Market, Listrom said.
A hotel has signed on but the contract isn't finalized, so the name of the chain hasn't been released. But developers promise it's a national chain and will be putting in a fullservice hotel that will be "the largest in Williamson County," Listrom said.
The hotel is a muchwelcomed aspect of the project, given that the city has already dedicated future hotelmotel tax revenue toward paying off a new ballpark that will house the Round Rock Express baseball team, Stluka said.
The project will also have liberal green space, Martin said, with possibly a large lake on the western edge of the office park, intended to serve both drainage and aesthetic needs.
