The Town Center at La Cantera Far Northwest San Antonio Rendering And Information

[kingwilliam]

The Town Center at La Cantera

This is the phase III I was talking about. Though it is bigger than I thought and is actually going to be marketed separately from The Shops as a new development in La Cantera. Although phase I of Town Center will not have a high-rise component, eventually it will.

Rendering

Location

Latest La Cantera project is mixed-use Town Center

Web Posted: 03/27/2008 11:08 PM CDT

Creighton A. Welch and Melissa Monroe

Express-News Business Writers

Last week, USAA Real Estate Co. unveiled its expansion plans for Phase II of The Shops at La Cantera. This week, the new projects continue to roll out.

USAA Real Estate Co. announced today that it is taking its 1,700-acre La Cantera development to the next level, and soon will start building The Town Center at La Cantera, a 178-acre mixed-use development along Interstate 10 and Loop 1604.

"This is the future of long-term development in the U.S.," said James Loyd, executive managing director at USAA Real Estate Co.

The first phase of the project, on about 40 acres, will have 500 loft-style apartments built on top of 200,000 square feet of neighborhood retail space, plus nearly 1 million square feet of office space and a 200-room boutique hotel.

Details about the developer and brand of hotel were not released. The first phase is expected to take five years to complete.

"The significance of the project is that it's a continuation of bringing retail and office and providing that commercial development to an area that has had a pent-up demand for quite a while," said Kimberly Gatley, senior vice president and director of research with NAI REOC Partners, a local real estate firm. "They're really servicing a need that has been there for some time."

The Town Center will focus on walkability and will have several parking garages rather than huge surface lots. Each building is expected to be Leadership in Energy Efficiency and Design certified for green building.

"If you look at it in terms of the environment, it should have a much less negative impact than other projects," Loyd said. "Due to our financial strength, we can afford to do this right, and will do it right."

Development in La Cantera has been unfolding slowly over the years, beginning with such landmarks as Six Flags Fiesta Texas and the Westin La Cantera Resort.

"It has always been kind of a long-term vision and focus for us," said T. Patrick Duncan, president and CEO of USAA Real Estate Co.

In 2005, The Shops at La Cantera opened as an open-air retail village with a Texas Hill Country architectural theme. High-end retailers at the center include a Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Tiffany & Co. and Anthropologie

[kingwilliam]

Better detailed site plans:

[ProHouston]

Wow, this sounds great. Finally a development that is more consistent with Sugar Land Town Square. I was starting to wonder if any of these proposed developments would get it right. This is exciting.