A real estate firm that owns properties in the La Frontera district has plans to further expand its footprint in Round Rock with a $200 million, 1 million-square-foot mixed-use development.
The Round Rock Chamber announced California-based Mark IV Capital is developing The District on 65 acres east of the Round Rock Crossing shopping center at Texas 45 and North Greenlawn Boulevard.
In a Chamber media release, Mark IV Chief Executive Officer Paul Cate said The District will be the region’s next major business hub and offer Class-A office space and a mixture of residential, hospitality and retail uses.
“Its location at the intersection of I-35 and (Texas) 45 easily connects to the core of Austin, while also providing phenomenal access to the fast-growing cities in north Austin,” he said.
Round Rock Mayor Craig Morgan said in the release that the city is thrilled to partner with Mark IV on the development. “This is exactly the type of project we need in this high-growth area,” he said.
City staff said construction on the development could begin within the next year.
The Round Rock City Council on Thursday night approved a memorandum of understanding with M4 Greenlawn, a subsidiary of Mark IV Capital, which sets the stage for a public-private partnership.
According to the memo, the city would create a public improvement district and provide a $10.8 million loan for public infrastructure within the development, including streets and utilities. The Round Rock Transportation and Economic Development Corporation would issue the loan for those improvements.
The memo states $6.4 million of the loan will be paid through property taxes accrued through the development, while the city transportation corporation will provide $4 million to pay off the loan.
The city transportation corporation, a semi-autonomous entity that works to boost the local economy, is funded through a half-cent city sales tax.
The development announcement comes after Mark IV broke ground in July on an expansion project in the La Frontera district. The Summitt II at La Frontera, a 95,000-square-foot office building, is scheduled to open sometime next year.
Mark IV oversaw development of Round Rock’s first Class-A office building, The Summit at La Frontera, in 2015. La Frontera is a master-planned district that includes commercial, residential and retail uses north of Texas 45 and west of Interstate 35.
