Construction has begun on Ascent Plaza, a 10,300-square-foot shopping center and professional building at 16356 Mueschke Road, Cypress, near the Schiel Road intersection. The project is being developed by Louetta Properties, and the architecture work was performed by Antonio Flamenco with Cypress-based INsite Architecture. Work crews began pouring a concrete slab for the pavement this week with the goal of opening the building to the public in August, said Gary Jones, project manager with Louetta Properties. Ascent Plaza is a build-to-suit retail space with spaces available from 1,100-10,369 square feet, Jones said. He said he has received interest from several tenants, but no deals have been finalized yet. Jones said the project will target professional clients across a variety of industries to cater to the growing residential communities in the area, including at the nearby Fairfield master-planned community. There will not be any bars or restaurants at the site, he said. The building will feature a modern design with an angled-up wood facade and no curbs, an aesthetic which Jones said was reminiscent of CityCentre, the upscale mixed-use development at Beltway 8 and I-10. "We decided if we were going to do something, we'd do something we'd like to see in our own community, something that was nice to look at," said Jones, who lives and works in Cypress. "It's going to be a pretty cool project."