La Frontera (Round Rock, Texas)
Encyclopedia
La Frontera is Round Rock's largest master-planned, multi-use
commercial business-retail-housing center and is located at the northeast corner of SH 45 Toll Road and Interstate 35
in Round Rock, Texas
within Williamson County, Texas
. La Frontera is also located immediately across Interstate 35
from the Dell
international headquarters. The name "La Frontera
" means “the border” or “frontier” in Spanish, hence the name of the project which sits at the exact border of the two counties (Travis and Williamson) and two communities (Round Rock and Austin). Because of the project's high profile, the entire area around this intersection over the years has loosely become known also as "La Frontera."
economic development efforts. The center is also home to the 200000 square feet (18,580.6 m²) corporate headquarters of Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation (TGSL). The walkability and connections within the mixed-use development
was an early form of New Urbanism
.
The developers included stringent design guidelines, architectural controls, landscape requirements, and other codes and restrictions. Primary internal roadways were built and dedicated to the City of Round Rock as public roads (versus using private roads as is typical) prior to individual sites being developed or sold. Significant portions of land were given to the Texas Highway Department for construction of SH45. In addition a unique combined "bundled utility" concept along with a redundant, self-healing Sonet
ring leading to an on-site telephonic switch was installed by TXU Electric
and TXU Communications
, both now a part of Energy Future Holdings Corporation; TXU provided one of the first instances in the State of Texas of "bundled utilities" of gas, electric, data, cable and telecom.
Phase III was purchased by Cousins Properties
of Atlanta in 1998 for future development.
real estate financier Ed Bass provided the equity financing with Boecker of Fort Worth representing Bass on the development team. The land was originally a partial dairy farm and was purchased from Austinite Tom Kouri (1924-2007), who farmed the land and was an astute real estate investor, and for whom Kouri Avenue in the development was named in his honor.."
which was filmed in a dilapidated farm house on the La Frontera property (located on what was originally Quick Hill Road). Twenty years later, in 1993, the house was cut into seven pieces and moved to Kingsland, Texas
, reassembled, and meticulously restored as a restaurant for the Antlers Hotel
and historic railway district. In Kingland it is sometimes known as the Texas Chainsaw House
. However, contrary to widespread belief, the story depicted in the movie was not a true story and no such event ever occurred. The house was a "pattern book" house, ordered from a catalog and assembled on site from a package of materials brought by wagon from a local lumber company. Research indicates it was likely built between 1908 and 1910. A second "twin" house was later discovered at La Frontera and was moved to Georgetown, Texas
. by Martin and Smalling and restored as part of San Gabriel Village development, overlookng the South San Gabriel river.
Mixed-use development
Mixed-use development is the use of a building, set of buildings, or neighborhood for more than one purpose. Since the 1920s, zoning in some countries has required uses to be separated. However, when jobs, housing, and commercial activities are located close together, a community's transportation...
commercial business-retail-housing center and is located at the northeast corner of SH 45 Toll Road and Interstate 35
Interstate 35
Interstate 35 is a north–south Interstate Highway in the central United States. I-35 stretches from Laredo, Texas, on the U.S.-Mexico border to Duluth, Minnesota, at Minnesota Highway 61 and 26th Avenue East. Many interstates used to have splits or spurs indicated with suffixed letters , but I-35...
in Round Rock, Texas
Round Rock, Texas
Round Rock is a city in Travis and Williamson counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the metropolitan area. The 2010 census places the population at 99,887....
within Williamson County, Texas
Williamson County, Texas
Williamson County is a county located on both the Edwards Plateau to the west, consisting of rocky terrain and hills, and Blackland Prairies in the east consising of rich, fertile farming land, The two areas are roughly bisected by Interstate 35...
. La Frontera is also located immediately across Interstate 35
Interstate 35
Interstate 35 is a north–south Interstate Highway in the central United States. I-35 stretches from Laredo, Texas, on the U.S.-Mexico border to Duluth, Minnesota, at Minnesota Highway 61 and 26th Avenue East. Many interstates used to have splits or spurs indicated with suffixed letters , but I-35...
from the Dell
Dell
Dell, Inc. is an American multinational information technology corporation based in 1 Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, United States, that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. Bearing the name of its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the largest...
international headquarters. The name "La Frontera
La Frontera
La Frontera is a municipality in Cuenca, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. It has a population of 203....
" means “the border” or “frontier” in Spanish, hence the name of the project which sits at the exact border of the two counties (Travis and Williamson) and two communities (Round Rock and Austin). Because of the project's high profile, the entire area around this intersection over the years has loosely become known also as "La Frontera."
The overall development
The 330 acre project combines multi-tenant offices, company headquarter buildings, more than 1000000 square feet (92,903 m²) of retail including La Frontera Village, three apartment complexes and specialized retail, banking, a medical rehabilitation hospital, and a variety of other uses. The project also includes Williamson County's only full service hotel, the Austin North Marriott which provides space for large conferences, meetings and banquets - a first for the county and an important component of Round Rock's and Williamson County'sWilliamson County, Texas
Williamson County is a county located on both the Edwards Plateau to the west, consisting of rocky terrain and hills, and Blackland Prairies in the east consising of rich, fertile farming land, The two areas are roughly bisected by Interstate 35...
economic development efforts. The center is also home to the 200000 square feet (18,580.6 m²) corporate headquarters of Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation (TGSL). The walkability and connections within the mixed-use development
Mixed-use development
Mixed-use development is the use of a building, set of buildings, or neighborhood for more than one purpose. Since the 1920s, zoning in some countries has required uses to be separated. However, when jobs, housing, and commercial activities are located close together, a community's transportation...
was an early form of New Urbanism
New urbanism
New Urbanism is an urban design movement, which promotes walkable neighborhoods that contain a range of housing and job types. It arose in the United States in the early 1980s, and has gradually continued to reform many aspects of real estate development, urban planning, and municipal land-use...
.
The developers included stringent design guidelines, architectural controls, landscape requirements, and other codes and restrictions. Primary internal roadways were built and dedicated to the City of Round Rock as public roads (versus using private roads as is typical) prior to individual sites being developed or sold. Significant portions of land were given to the Texas Highway Department for construction of SH45. In addition a unique combined "bundled utility" concept along with a redundant, self-healing Sonet
Sonet
Sonet may refer to:* Sonet Records, European record label* Synchronous optical networking * Saab Sonett...
ring leading to an on-site telephonic switch was installed by TXU Electric
TXU
Energy Future Holdings Corporation is an electric utility company headquartered in Energy Plaza in Downtown Dallas, Texas, United States. The company was known as TXU until its $45 billion leveraged buyout by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Texas Pacific Group and Goldman Sachs...
and TXU Communications
TXU
Energy Future Holdings Corporation is an electric utility company headquartered in Energy Plaza in Downtown Dallas, Texas, United States. The company was known as TXU until its $45 billion leveraged buyout by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Texas Pacific Group and Goldman Sachs...
, both now a part of Energy Future Holdings Corporation; TXU provided one of the first instances in the State of Texas of "bundled utilities" of gas, electric, data, cable and telecom.
La Frontera Village retail
- Phase I of the project was La Frontera Village, which was the first retail portion of La Frontera to be built and was the largest outdoor commercial project in the greater Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area at the time. La Frontera Village was developed by David Berndt Interests of Dallas and Developers Diversified Realty CorporationDevelopers Diversified Realty CorporationDDR is an owner and manager of retail shopping centers in the United States. The company was founded in 1965 and is based in Beachwood, Ohio, an eastern suburb of Greater Cleveland. It operates in 41 U.S. states, Brazil and Puerto Rico. After rebranding itself in 2011 DDR adopted the new brand...
. It consists of 880000 square feet (81,754.7 m²) of retail space.
- A separate additional 50000 square feet (4,645.2 m²) retail center was developed by Waterstone Development (of Austin), as well as numerous restaurant and bank pad retail sites were sold by the development partnership.
Multi-tenant office buildings
- Synermark Development also built the first office building, a 200000 square feet (18,580.6 m²) multi-tenant building called 301 Sundance. Additional multi-tenant office buildings would be built by Koontz-McCombs of San Antonio, and Simmons Vedder of Austin.
Marriott Hotel
- One of the first commercial users to build on-site was the Austin North Marriott hotel, a 298-room full-service hotel with restaurant, ballrooms, executive meeting rooms and concierge services. It is the only full-service hotel in Williamson County. The hotel benefits from the proximity of DellDellDell, Inc. is an American multinational information technology corporation based in 1 Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, United States, that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. Bearing the name of its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the largest...
among other corporate clients. The hotel was built by and is owned and operated by Winegardner and Hammonds, Inc. of Cincinnati, Ohio, a hotel operating company.
- Winegardner and Hammonds in 1998 also purchased the final 2 acre (0.809372 ha) site out of the original 330 acres, for a future additional hotel.
Multi-family units
- Martin Fein Interests of Houston built three major multi-family complexes within La Frontera: The Encalve; Lakeside: and Frontera Square.
Phases II and III
Phase II within La Frontera was purchased in 2007 by the Simmons-Vedder Company of Houston and Austin and is planned for up to 2000000 square feet (185,806.1 m²) of office development. Emerson Process Management purchased the first two office buildings, called Frontera Vista I and II, in July 2011, moving their world headquarters to Round Rock and occupying 200000 square feet (18,580.6 m²) of office space with approximately 875 jobs, and a projected 10,000 room nights in area hotels.Phase III was purchased by Cousins Properties
Cousins Properties
Cousins Properties, Inc. , headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, is a real estate investment trust, and one of the oldest publicly traded real estate companies in the country. It was formed in 1958 by Tom Cousins and has been publicly traded since 1962. It became a real estate investment trust in...
of Atlanta in 1998 for future development.
Developers
Austin development partners Don Martin and William S. "Bill" Bill Smalling along with William V. "Bill" Boecker were the developers of La Frontera. Fort WorthFort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
real estate financier Ed Bass provided the equity financing with Boecker of Fort Worth representing Bass on the development team. The land was originally a partial dairy farm and was purchased from Austinite Tom Kouri (1924-2007), who farmed the land and was an astute real estate investor, and for whom Kouri Avenue in the development was named in his honor.."
Status
The project groundbreaking was in 1998 and all land within the development was entirely sold out by 2008."Movie site
The portion of the land where La Frontera now sits was the site of the primary filming of the 1974 cult movie classic The Texas Chainsaw MassacreThe Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre may refer to:* The Texas Chainsaw Massacre , a horror film franchise** The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, 1974 film** The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, 1986 film...
which was filmed in a dilapidated farm house on the La Frontera property (located on what was originally Quick Hill Road). Twenty years later, in 1993, the house was cut into seven pieces and moved to Kingsland, Texas
Kingsland, Texas
Kingsland is a census-designated place in Llano County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,584 at the 2000 census. Texas Ranch to Market Road 1431 runs through the community.-Geography:...
, reassembled, and meticulously restored as a restaurant for the Antlers Hotel
Antlers Hotel (Kingsland, Texas)
The Antlers Hotel is a hotel and resort built in 1901 by the Austin and Northwestern Railroad on the Colorado River in Kingsland in Llano County in Central Texas. After a brief heyday, The Antlers closed in 1923 and fell into disrepair...
and historic railway district. In Kingland it is sometimes known as the Texas Chainsaw House
Texas Chainsaw House
The Texas Chainsaw House is located in Kingsland, Texas on the grounds of the Antlers Hotel & Historic Railroad District. This 1900's Victorian house was featured prominently in the movie The Texas Chainsaw Massacre before it was moved to this location from Williamson County in the 1990s...
. However, contrary to widespread belief, the story depicted in the movie was not a true story and no such event ever occurred. The house was a "pattern book" house, ordered from a catalog and assembled on site from a package of materials brought by wagon from a local lumber company. Research indicates it was likely built between 1908 and 1910. A second "twin" house was later discovered at La Frontera and was moved to Georgetown, Texas
Georgetown, Texas
Georgetown is a city and also the county seat of Williamson County, Texas, United States with a population of 47,400 at the 2010 census. Southwestern University, founded in 1840, is the oldest university in Texas and is located in Georgetown, about 1/2 mile east of the historic square...
. by Martin and Smalling and restored as part of San Gabriel Village development, overlookng the South San Gabriel river.