Census Estimates: Texas Again Leads US In Population Growth, California Continues To Slip

ABJ   – 12/22/2021

Texas added the most residents of any state by raw numbers in 2021 while California’s population continued to dwindle for the second year in a row, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. A years-long trend of residents trading the West Coast for the Lone Star State is likely continuing, especially as companies relocate to Texas in droves.

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Austin Market’s Median Home Price Hits All-Time High For The Month Of November

Austin Culture Map – 12/20/2021

The median sale price of a home in the Austin metro area climbed nearly 30% from last November to this November, according to a new report from the Austin Board of Realtors. In November, the region’s median sale price rose 29.7 percent to $470,000 compared with a year earlier, a record-high price for the month of November.

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Growth of Amazon and Austin Converge in Plan To Hire 2,000 Tech Workers, Lease Entire Office Tower

CoStar – 12/21/2021

Tech giant Amazon is expanding its office footprint in fast-growing Austin, Texas, by leasing an entire 18-story office tower with plans to create thousands of tech jobs in the Texas capital. It’s a move that signals both the expansion of the city, as well as the company’s commercial real estate needs, show no signs of slowing.

Amazon and landlord Cousins Properties announced Tuesday that the e-commerce behemoth will occupy all of Domain 9, taking 330,000 square feet under construction in the Domain, Austin’s so-called second central business district that is about 12 miles north of downtown Austin.

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More Housing Being Built Around The Domain

ABJ – 12/27/2021

The area surrounding The Domain continues to expand, with another residential project officially underway near Austin’s “second downtown.”

Florida-based Mill Creek Residential Trust LLC moved dirt on Modera EaDo on Dec. 15. The 377-unit apartment community is located at 11604 Stonehollow Drive just east of The Domain and anticipates having its first move-ins by the summer of 2023. Modera EaDo is Mill Creek Residential’s third ground-up development in Austin.

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VeraBank Growing Retail Branch Network, Downtown Office Space

ABJ  – 12/21/2021

Austin’s rapid economic growth is opening lucrative opportunities for smaller community banks, especially in real estate. VeraBank NA — based in Henderson, in Northeast Texas — just added 5,000 sq. ft. to a downtown Austin office space it has not yet moved into, bringing its total footprint at 1111 W. Sixth St. to about 16,000 sq. ft.

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Texas Economy Continues To Bounce Back, Although Recovery Is Mixed

Austin American Statesman   – 12/28/2021

Amid coronavirus variants and supply chain issues, the Texas economy continues to bounce back, although the recovery is mixed. The state’s manufacturing sector saw growth in December, while several parts of the service sector showed a slower pace of acceleration this month, according to new Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas surveys. Despite some headwinds, the state’s manufacturing sector continues to expand, said Emily Kerr, Dallas Fed senior business economist.

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3 New Businesses Coming Soon To Downtown Austin

Community Imoact  – 12/28/2021

» The 212-room Cambria Hotel Austin Downtown will open in summer 2023 at 68 East Ave..
» Houston-based restaurant Local Foods will open its first Austin location in February at 454 W. Second St.
» Wax Myrtle’s Club & Pool will open in January. The restaurant and bar will be located on the fourth floor of the new Thompson Hotel at 506 San Jacinto Blvd.

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Austin Airport Saw Record Number Of New Flights In ’21 — Here Is What’s Coming In ’22

ABJ  – 12/29/2021

It’s been a busy year at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.  A record 35 new nonstop routes launched from ABIA in 2021, airport spokesperson Bailey Grimmett said.  More than 8.8 million travelers passed through the Austin airport from January to September, according to the latest airport data.

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In Its Biggest Deal Ever, Austin-Based Oracle Buys Medical Records Company For $28.3 Billion

Austin American Statesman   – 12/20/2021

Austin-based software giant Oracle is buying electronic medical records company Cerner in an all-cash deal valued at about $28.3 billion. Oracle will pay $95 per Cerner share and the deal is expected to close next year. Hospitals and physicians offices use Cerner software to record and share health and medical data.

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Funky Tex-Mex chain Heats Up The ’Burbs

Austin Culture Map  – 12/28/2021

Chuy’s, a long-loved Austin Tex-Mex chain, is planning to open a restaurant location in New Braunfels — smack in between its seven Austin-area locations and its four in San Antonio. The whole enchilada is expected to cost $2.1 million, and the 6,630-sq. ft. restaurant will be located at the bustling intersection of I-35 and FM 306. Construction is expected to begin in late April and be completed by November 2022.

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Austin Auto Sales Still Not At Pre-Pandemic Level, But Show Signs Of Rebound

Austin American Statesman   – 12/22/2021

Sales haven’t returned to pre-pandemic levels, but as 2021 comes to a close Austin-area auto sales are continuing to show signs of bouncing back from the economic blows dealt by the coronavirus.

As of the end of November, Austin-area auto dealers had sold 117,803 new cars, pickups and SUVs this year, according to Freeman Auto Report.  That’s up 12% from total sales for the same 11 months in 2020. Auto dealers are on pace to finish 2021 with about 128,520 sales.

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Hopdoddy Cooking Up Aggressive Expansion Plan

ABJ  – 12/27/2021

Hopdoddy Burger Bar is moving into a new phase — expanding into more locations, condensing its larger footprints and focusing on the suburban market.  The restaurant’s new focus will allow it to add eight to 14 restaurants a year once Hopdoddy finds the right locations.

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Funding Wrap: Eight-Figure Deal For Music Royalty Startup Pumps Up An Already Stout Week

ABJ  – 12/20/2021

• Austin’s Restore Hyper Wellness said that it raised a $140 million round.
• An Austin-based company called Royal Markets Inc. reported roughly $52 million in funding from 10 investors.
• Austin-based content collaboration software startup FileCloud said it closed a $30 million series A round..

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Venture Lines Up $100 Million Apartment Project in Greater Austin

CoStar – 12/27/2021

Thompson Realty Capital and Trez Capital are teaming up once again, this time to develop a $100 million apartment project about 30 miles north of downtown Austin, Texas, in Liberty Hill.

The venture, in its seventh project together, broke ground on the first phase of Larkspur, a development located just north of of the fast-growing city of Leander.  The garden-style complex is being developed in two phases, with Larkspur to offer 504 units upon completion.

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Dallas-Based Developer Eyes Georgetown For Huge Commercial, Residential Hub

ABJ  – 12/23/2021

One of North Texas’ largest industrial developers is eyeing a 224-acre development that could bring nearly 2 million square feet of industrial space plus multifamily units to the north side of Georgetown.

Dallas-based Jackson-Shaw Co. received unanimous approval from Georgetown City Council for a slew of agreements for the project. Officials said the company is hoping to break ground within a few months on the development, which is located alongside I-35 north of the intersection with State Highway 195.

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Cousins Follows Up Amazon News With Pair of Major Downtown Austin Deals

CoStar  – 12/22/2021

Cousins Properties is continuing to shake up its portfolio with a pair of major deals in downtown Austin, Texas. The Atlanta firm sold the 816 Congress building to an undisclosed buyer for $174 million, and bought out its partners in 300 Colorado for $162.5 million.

The pair of deals is part of a larger recycling for Cousins, which has invested over $1 billion in new developments and acquisitions while selling over $600 million of what it described as older vintage, capital intensive assets.

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Incentive Package To Lure Samsung To Taylor Is Biggest In Texas History

Austin American Statesman  – 12/28/2021

Samsung’s plan to build a $17 billion next-generation semiconductor factory in Taylor is being called the largest direct foreign investment in Texas history. The amount of publicly funded incentives that sealed the deal for the small town northeast of Austin is of similar historic significance.

South Korea-based Samsung is set to receive property tax breaks from the city of Taylor, the Taylor school district and Williamson County totaling $954 million over the life of the agreements.  Combined with a $27 million grant from a state incentive fund, the package adds up to $981 million and easily ranks No. 1 in a database compiled by the public-interest group Good Jobs First.

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City-Focused Developer Lands $1 Billion Partnership With Swiss Investment Giant

CoStar  – 12/16/2021

A Texas company known for building luxury housing in densely populated urban areas received a major cash infusion to expand in five booming cities in the U.S. West, signaling that investor confidence in urban areas is back.

Austin-based StoryBuilt entered into a $1 billion joint venture agreement with Partners Group, a global investment firm based out of Zug, Switzerland. The deal capitalizes 17 projects StoryBuilt already has in the pipeline in its key markets of Austin, Dallas and San Antonio, Texas; Denver and Seattle, and it funds future acquisitions.

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Huge Bastrop 552 Film Studio May Open In 2023

ABJ  – 12/28/2021

A 546-acre film studio and entertainment district near Bastrop has a target opening date for its first phase: August 2023.  That’s among the new details emerging about the Bastrop 552 project, which owner Alton Butler has said will eventually have 486,000 square feet of studio space, 300,000 square feet of warehouse/mill space and 200,000 square feet of office space in a horseshoe bend of the Colorado River.

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Investors Gravitate to Nexus East’s Location in the Heart of East Austin

ConnectMedia  – 12/21/2021

Nexus East, a newly constructed 352-unit luxury multifamily asset in Austin, recently sold to an affiliate of Treeline Multifamily Partners Ltd. The purchase price was undisclosed.  The seller was a partnership between Ardent Residential, an Austin-based real estate development firm specializing in multifamily properties, and DDelta Development based in Monterrey, Mexico.  Nexus East, which delivered in 2021, features a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom units, and was 90 percent leased at the time of sale.

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Easton Park Set To Grow With More Houses, Apartments

ABJ  – 12/27/2021

Easton Park — already one of the most active communities in the Southeast Austin area — is pushing residential development forward with new housing options.

Civil engineering firm Consort Inc. recently submitted plans to the city of Austin for a 300-unit apartment building on vacant land within Easton Park.  Developers also submitted plans for 200 new single-family homes on lots currently platted for condominiums, which Brad Chelton, president of Brookfield Residential Texas, said will eventually be for-sale homes.

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Weitzman CEO: What To Expect In 2022 Retail Leasing, Development

ABJ  – 12/30/2021

As the country and the region continue to manage policies in safely coping with Covid-19,Weitzman President and CEO Marshall Mills said, for his firm, the majority of tenant sales are up over 2019 for 2021; retail development is set to come back in the next 12 to 24 months; and grocers won’t be sitting on the sidelines for much longer. We will see the H-E-Bs and other major players do projects in the next 12 to 24 months.  Click below to read the full article.

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Canadian Real Estate Company Enters Austin Apartment Market

ABJ  – 12/23/2021

A Canadian real estate investor is the latest international player seeking to make a splash in the Austin market. Toronto-based Prism Multifamily Group Inc. has bought Spectra Parks, a 324-apartment community at 5301 Decker Lane in East Austin.  The community is 65% occupied and 80% leased.

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Brookwood In Georgetown Buys 127 Acres Of Land For Residential Community

Community Impact  – 12/20/2021

Nonprofit organization Brookwood in Georgetown purchased 127 acres of land in Weir to build out Grace Place, a neighborhood for adults with disabilities.  Grace Place will be located at 2148 CR 120, Weir, and will not be accessible to the public until June 2022.  The residential community will be built out in four phases and will feature a chapel and event center, an outdoor movie theater, a fitness center, a tiny home village, a pet resort and several additional houses. The community will house 80 residents.

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