Austin Marriott North Opening May 14

The 295-room Austin Marriott North, which broke ground in spring 2000, is the sixth in the joint venture portfolio. Eagle also is headquartered in Cincinnati. The development recently has copped an honor as 2000's best deal as construction crews put the finishing touches to the project.

In addition, Austin Marriott North marks the first hotel in the 328-acre La Frontera, the region's premier mixed-use community. "It's very much an anchor," Cindy Swift, Winegardner & Hammons' national sales director of business development, tells GlobeSt.com.

The 202,000-sf Marriott is a twin to the joint venture's holding, the Dallas-Ft. Worth Airport Marriott South at 4151 Centreport Dr. That hotel delivered last year. In fact, all of the partners' Marriotts are taking on the same design. Ground has recently broken on another prototype Marriott in Hartford, CT with the partners eyeing an early 2002 delivery. Most likely, there's more to come, but Swift isn't tipping her hand as to where. "We're always searching the market," she says.

The Dallas and Austin projects represent the Cincinnati joint ventures Texas inroad with the Marriott brand. But Winegardner & Hammons isn't a newcomer to the Lone Star State. It also owns Holiday Inns at 100 Alta Mesa E. Blvd. and 2540 Meacham Blvd., both in Ft. Worth and 5549 Leopard St. in Corpus Christi. "We're in Texas and we're familiar with Texas," says Swift as she discusses whether the joint venture will build more Marriotts in key suburban areas, which are its target market.

Swift says the present Texas emphasis is getting the Austin Marriott ready to open in Round Rock. "We look forward to having an impact on the community," she says. The eight-story Marriott includes 14,000 sf of meeting and ballroom space, eight executive boardrooms and more than 200 rooms boasting high-tech business amenities.