La Jaita Business Park in Cedar Park begins construction

After a six-month construction delay, the developer of La Jaita Business Park began construction in January near New Hope and Arrow Point drives in Cedar Park.

Approximately 167,600 square feet of office and warehouse space will be built in three phases, said developer Carmine Marinari. He and business partner Frank Smith of MTI Properties also created Discovery Business Park and Arrow Point Business Park.

Marinari said a stalled economic market postponed construction, but at least three tenants are expected to occupy the first 65,425-square-foot building by August.

"The economy slowed down, and we had enough of a market sample with our existing tenants to know who was hurting and who wasn't," Marinari said. "And because of that radar, I had a pretty good inclination we would stay in a supressed market for a while, and we did."

In December, the city's 4B Community Development Corporation approved an incentive agreement totaling $116,939 for the La Jaita Business Park. Pending City Council approval, the deal includes reimbursements for the construction of office and flex space, a partial extension of Arrow Point Drive and 925 feet of public wastewater line, Cedar Park Economic Development Manager Larry Holt said.

"They have two years to do that plus the wastewater and road improvements," he said. "They are building a pretty significant sewer line that will serve the properties north of the La Jaita development."

Once about 75 percent of the space in the first building is leased, Marinari said construction will likely begin on the second and possibly third phases.

"For us, timing is everything, and [so is] knowing you are going to have the tenants at the right time because otherwise you just built a vacant building," he said. "As we are developing and leasing Phase 1, we will go ahead and have permitted Phase 2 and maybe even Phase 3 simultaneously. I may not want to do both at the same time is because it's not cheap to permit something. But on top of that, it's nice to know that the buildings can still be tweaked for whatever tenants might be interested."

At least three tenants from Arrow Point Business Park will relocate to La Jaita, Marinari said, including an unnamed e-commerce company, ergonomic computer accessory manufacturer Key Ovation Group LLC and Endeavor for Wellness LLC, a personal, relationship and group therapy practice.