Burgeoning Austin Suburb Boasts Second-Hottest Neighborhood For U.S. Homebuyers

Austin Culture Map  – 1/14/2022

The population of Leander soared 123% from 2010 to 2020, and the growth shows no signs of letting up. A new report from residential real estate platform Opendoor provides further evidence of the continued popularity of the Williamson County suburb. Leander’s 78641 ZIP code ranks second on Opendoor’s new list of the country’s 10 most popular ZIP codes for homebuyers.

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Downtown Austin Office Tower On Congress Avenue Sells For $174 Million

Austin American Statesman    – 1/13/2022

Another Austin office tower has been snapped up. The property changing hands this time is 816 Congress, a 20-story downtown high-rise. The new owner is Regent Properties, which is buying it from Atlanta-based Cousins Properties. Cousins said the 435,000-square-foot building sold for a gross sales price of $174 million.

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Austin Metro’s Record-Smashing Year Ended With Nearly 27K Jobs Announced From Relocations, Expansions

ABJ – 1/13/2022

The Austin metro has never seen as many jobs announced from company relocations and expansions as it did in 2021.  While this is just one metric, it emphasizes that the Austin metro continues to be an enticing market for executives looking to grow their businesses.

Last year, companies of different size and industry pledged to create 26,697 new jobs across Central Texas — up nearly 21% from the previous record of 22,114 jobs announced in 2020, according to data compiled by Opportunity Austin,  Last year’s massive wins included companies such as Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Amazon.com and Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc.

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6-Story Office Building Could Rise On Site Of East Austin Coffee Store

ABJ – 1/11/2022

The Austin Planning Commission will consider a rezoning request for a six-story office building in East Austin’s Plaza Saltillo District.

Dallas-based Stream Realty Partners LP is under contract to develop the 0.99-acre property at 1400 E. Fourth St. Texas Coffee Traders is currently operating on the property. As proposed, the mid-rise would include ground-floor restaurant uses and underground parking.  The project needs to be considered by the Planning Commission and Austin City Council before dirt can be moved.

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Numbers Are In: Let’s Break Down A Record-Breaking 2021 For Austin Startups And Vcs

ABJ   – 1/14/2022

Austin startups had their slowest fundraising quarter of the year to close out 2021. But the $924 million in deals logged, according to a new report, is still more than any other quarter outside of 2021 — a sign of what a massive year it was. Overall, Austin ranked No. 7 in the nation for the amount of venture dollars flowing to locally-based companies with $4.7 billion of equity funding across 387 deals, according to a PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor report.

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Rental Side Of Housing Market Also Scorching

ABJ  – 1/11/2022

According to ApartmentData.com, rents in the Austin metro went up about 25% between December 2020 and December 2021. The median rent for an apartment in Austin hit $1,560 last month, the highest level of all major Texas metros.  Experts attribute the exploding rental market to job growth, an influx of remote workers and a highly competitive single-family housing market.

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Austin Bootmaker Tecovas Lands $56 Million To Open More Stores, Add Apparel

Austin American Statesman   – 1/12/2022

Tecovas, the Austin-based company that started as an online seller of handmade cowboy boots, has raised $56 million to expand its brand. The company, which currently makes about 60% of its sales online, is betting on growth from new retail stores, said Paul Hedrick, founder and CEO. With the new funding, the company plans to open five to seven stores in 2022.

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Construction Nearing For 2 Costco Stores In Central Texas Suburbs

ABJ – 1/13/2022

Costco Wholesale Corp.’s expansion in the Austin suburbs appears to be progressing, as the company in recent months took some major steps needed to begin work on its new locations in Georgetown and Kyle.  Construction at the Georgetown site — at the northwest corner of I-35 and Lakeway Drive — could begin in April for a 160,000-SF facility, with a scheduled completion date of March 31, 2023.  The Kyle store — at the northwest corner of I-35 and Kohler’s Crossing — is scheduled to begin construction Jan. 21 on a 160,000-SF facility.

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Austin Airport Adding New Nonstop Flight To London And New International Carrier

Austin American Statesman    – 1/10/2022

Austin will soon have a new international carrier and new nonstop service to London. Virgin Atlantic will begin service between Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and London’s Heathrow Airport on May 25. It will be the airline’s first new route from the U.S. since 2015.

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Fast Food Chain Bojangles Plots Austin Expansion

ABJ  – 1/12/2022

Bojangles Inc., the North Carolina-based fried chicken fast food chain, could make its way to the Austin market in the coming years. Bojangles announced in early January plans to open about 50 locations across Texas, five of which would be in Austin, targeting locations on the north side of the Austin metro.

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Austin Area Among Top U.S. Markets For Home Sales In Master-Planned Communities

Austin Culture Map – 1/7/2022

The Austin area —  particularly the Capital City’s surrounding suburbs — is mastering the art of the master-planned community. A report released January 4 by RCLCO Real Estate Advisors shows the Austin metro area was home to two of the 50 top-selling master-planned communities last year.
‣  Santa Rita Ranch, Liberty Hill, Mariner Real Estate Development, ranked 38th with 515 homes sold in 2021.
‣  No. 40, Sunfield, Buda, Scarborough Lane, ranked 40th, with 504 homes sold in 2021.

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Residential Community in Metro Austin to Transform 30-Acre Land Site

Connect Media – 1/11/2022

A 30-acre parcel in Pflugerville soon will be developed into a new residential community. The site was recently acquired by LIV Development. Located off State Highway 30 and E. Pecan St., the site is a prime development location positioned in this expanding North Austin suburb. “We are extremely excited about The Livano Pflugerville and all of the growth in the surrounding submarket,” said Andrew Murray, LIV’s managing director of development.

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Apartment Complex Trades Near $715 Million Northline Development in Leander, Texas

CoStar  – 1/14/2022

An apartment building that opened in 2018 near the Northline mixed-use project in Leander, Texas, has traded hands.  22 North, a 240-unit complex located off Route 183 near the Crystal Falls Golf Club at 149 S. Bagdad Road, was developed by California’s K.L. Enterprises.  Though the sale price was not disclosed, a public filing shows the buyer, Austin Leander Investments LP, secured $53.55 million in financing through Greystone Servicing Corp. for the acquisition.

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New Investors Jump Into Austin Real Estate: Congress Ave. Tower, Suburban Offices Snapped Up

ABJ   – 1/13/2022

The full effects of the Covid pandemic on the office market are still playing out, but two recent transactions show institutional investors remain bullish on Austin. Both represented the first Austin deals for the respective buyers.
▶ Regent Properties LLC, based in Dallas and Los Angeles, acquired 816 Congress — a 20-story high-rise building in downtown Austin — for $174 million.
▶ 35 South Capital LLC, a Texas-based real estate asset manager, announced it had purchased West Lake Hills Plaza, a suburban office building at 3811 Bee Cave Road.

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N.C. Site Out Of Running For Major Micron Factory, Sources Say, Boosting Central Texas’ Odds

ABJ   – 1/14/2022

The Triangle Innovation Point megasite in Chatham County, North Carolina, is no longer in the running to land a massive semiconductor facility, sources familiar with the project told Triangle Business Journal. Austin Business Journal reported earlier this month that Micron was scouting locations in Central Texas for a chip factory, including sites in both Caldwell and Williamson counties.

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Austin Leasing/Sales Activity Continues at Fever Pitch

Connect Media  – 1/14/2022

☞ A 37,399-square-foot industrial lease was recently arranged for Service Experts, a heating, air conditioning, and plumbing company, at 5811 Bluestein Dr. in Austin.
☞ The cumulative monthly value of industrial sales as of September 30, 2021 in the Austin area was $971.4 million, an increase of more than 200 percent compared to the same time last year at $305.8 million.

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Pflugerville Officials Take First Steps Toward FM 685 Mixed-Use Development

Community Impact  – 1/11/2022

At its Jan. 11 meeting, Pflugerville City Council voted to allow land owner and developer Fairfield to submit a planned unit development, or PUD, rezoning application for an approximately 12-acre plot of land on FM 685, just south of Gattis School Road.  Fairfield is seeking to use the land for a mixed-use development that would contain approximately 350 urban-style multifamily residential units and for-rent townhomes as well as commercial and retail buildings.

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Banyan Nabs 34-Acre Parcel For Third SFR Community

Connect Media  – 1/13/2022

Banyan Residential recently acquired a 34.4-acre parcel at 2601 Crystal Bend Dr. in Pflugerville to develop its third single-family rental community. Developed in partnership with Bridge Investment Group, the community will comprise 230 single-family rental homes. The team will commence construction in fall 2022.

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Dripping Springs City Council Allows 3 More Developments To Continue Despite Moratorium

Community Impact  – 1/3/2022

Dripping Springs City Council granted three more waivers for developers to continue their design and building processes during a Jan. 11 meeting.  The three approved waivers were for the Overlook at Bunker Ranch and the Hardy T Land South and North residential developments. The Bunker Ranch development sits at 2100 Creek Road and proposes to place 11 single-family homes on 18 acres. The Hardy South plat at 2901 W. Hwy. 290 includes 39 single-family lots with an on-site septic system. Developers propose the Hardy North plat will include 33 single-family homes and seven condominium units.

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Redevelopment Of Downtown Austin Building Faces Potential Historic Landmark Roadblock

ABJ  – 1/13/2022

A landowner in downtown Austin wants to demolish an old warehouse building that’s currently home to Vince Young Steakhouse for a possible tower project but first has to battle a city commission over an unwanted historical landmark designation because of its utilitarian architecture.

The property at the center of the debate is a brick warehouse originally built in 1912 at 301 San Jacinto Blvd. The Planning Commission ultimately supported the property owner’s request and voted on Jan. 11 to deny staff’s recommendation for the historic landmark zoning change. The case will go to Austin City Council, which will need a three-fourth vote to override the owner’s request.

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