Jul. 8, 2003 - Horseshoe Bay Resort, in the Hill Country along the shores of Lake LBJ, began construction Monday on a 350-room Marriott hotel and conference center under the direction of Fort Worth developer Michael Mallick. 

Mallick has been working for about two years on the project with the owner of the Horseshoe Bay Resort, San Antonio's Jaffe Group, and will oversee its construction and operations. 

The hotel project is a partnership between Horseshoe Bay Resort and Sarofim Realty Advisors in Dallas. 

"It's a very exciting project," said Mallick, president of Horseshoe Bay Development. "It's an exciting place." 

Horseshoe Bay Resort has a 195-room lodge that is not meeting demand, and Marriott has long expressed an interest in building a hotel at the property, Mallick said. 

"Marriott determined that all the amenities were underutilized," Mallick said. "It's a unique opportunity. There's not a lot of hotel projects under construction." 

The hotel, to be managed by Marriott, is scheduled to be completed in fall 2004. The owners expect that the hotel will draw corporate and leisure business from across Texas as well as from Oklahoma and Louisiana, Mallick said. 

The seven-story facility will have 100 suites and 20,000 square feet of meeting space. Guests will have access to Horseshoe Bay's exclusive golf courses, spa, tennis complex, marina, private airport and its other amenities. 

"The addition of the hotel and conference center will favorably impact the surrounding Hill Country communities for years to come," Mallick said. 

Horseshoe Bay Resort began in the 1970s by Norman and Dorothy Hurd. 

The Jaffe Group acquired the development in 1996. 

Mallick and Douglas Jaffe, chairman of the Jaffe Group, have been business associates for about 17 years. Mallick has been involved in various office and residential developments in the Fort Worth area. 

-----To see more of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.dfw.com 

(c) 2003, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. MAR,