For much of 2021, site preparation has been underway for a Covert car dealership on Hwy. 71 west of Bee Cave at the intersection of what are now two new roadway names to the area–Duke Covert Drive and Sweetwater Village Drive. Now, passing motorists can see that building construction has begun.

When fully built out, the dealership will extend along Sweetwater Village. Duke Covert, which connects the area to Hwy. 71, is named in honor of Duke Matthews Covert, Covert Austin Principal Partner Philip Robinson said. Covert died in December and was the great-grandson of Frank Covert Sr., who founded the Covert dealership in 1909, according to Covert's obituary.

The Covert family plans for the dealership to contain storefronts for Buick, Cadillac, Chrysler, Dodge, GMC and Jeep, Robinson said. Construction materials will include stone and stucco. Completion of the initial phase of the dealership is about a year away, he said.

"The showrooms for GMC and Cadillac, those will probably open first, and then we will have the Jeep showroom within a few months of that," Robinson said. "We have had some issues with steel sourcing. It's a challenge, but the contractor is doing an excellent job."

The dealership is within the city of Bee Cave’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, or ETJ, and is part of a larger 400-acre development known as Sweetwater East, which is managed by a division of Wheelock Street Capital.

The development agreement between Bee Cave and the developers allows for the Covert dealership to cover up to 38 acres. The agreement also calls for non-point-source pollution controls to protect Little Barton Creek and other area watersheds that ultimately drain into Lake Travis.

The agreement also states that the dealership must conform to city requirements for proper highway signage and that structures 35 to 45 feet in height be set back from Hwy. 71 by up to 275 feet.