CAPELLA   AUSTIN  NEWSLETTER

March 6, 2022

Fast-Growing Cybersecurity Firm Red Sift Picks Austin For U.S. Headquarters

Austin American Statesman – 3/4/2022

Red Sift, a fast-growing London-based cybersecurity company, has picked Austin for its U.S. headquarters.  The Austin team is currently operating out of a co-working space, and as the workforce grows and COVID-19 restrictions decline a physical location will be next, Mary Anne Gunn, chief growth officer, said.

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Austin’s Retail Leasing Posting Its Best Start Since 2013, NAI Partners Report

Connect Media – 3/1/2022

The new year started with overall vacancy in the Austin retail market tightening to 3.8%, dropping 80 basis points from this time last year. Availability is at 5.1%, down 110 basis points from January 2021, according to the NAI Partner’s 2022 January retail report.  January 2022 marks the highest amount of leasing activity in January since 2013 for the Austin retail market.

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Final Phase Of Huge Southeast Austin Industrial Park Begins

ABJ – 3/4/2022

Another tower will sprout in downtown Austin later this year.

Austin-based Cielo Property Group plans to break ground this summer on a 46-story, 750,000-square-foot office tower, called “Perennial,” immediately east of Frost Bank Tower, according to an announcement. It represents the first step in the development group’s plans to transform a full block between Brazos Street and San Jacinto Boulevard.  Plans call for a 30,000-square-foot “Sky Garden,” a 500-person gathering space, private meeting rooms, a walking trail and balconies on every office floor.

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Kroger Picks Texas, Alabama for Three New Last-Mile Delivery Sites

CoStar – 2/25/2022

Kroger, the nation’s largest supermarket chain, is doubling down on its effort to move into markets where it doesn’t have stores, saying  it plans to open three more distribution facilities, with two in Texas and one in Alabama, to deliver groceries to shoppers.

Kroger didn’t disclose the exact locations for its spoke facilities in Austin and Dallas, but the one in Austin will be 70,000 square feet and located in the the northeast part of the city, pending finalization of lease negotiation.   All three of those spoke facilities are expected to be operational later this year, and each one will create up to 161 jobs, according to Kroger.

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Austin Booms Among Top U.S. Metros For New Home Construction Since 2012

Austin Culture Map –  2/28/2022

As a result of the region’s booming population, the Capital City lands at No. 11 on the list of major U.S. metro areas with the most construction permits issued for single-family homes from 2012 through 2021, according to new data from self-storage marketplace StorageCafe. During that period, 152,779 permits for single-family homes were handed out in the region.

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Texas Tops Nation In Business Investment Projects For 10th Year In A Row

Austin American Statesman – 3/1/2022

Texas outpaced all other states in attracting capital-intensive business investment projects in 2021, winning top recognition from Site Selection magazine — again. The national publication’s Governor’s Cup goes annually to the state with the most business investment projects, an award that Texas has now won 10 years in a row.

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See Inside Icon’s Curvaceous 3D-Printed Home Debuting At SXSW 2022

ABJ – 3/2/2022

Austin startup Icon Technology Inc. is debuting a striking home in East Austin that it constructed in a first-of-its kind collaboration between its large-scale 3D printer and human architects and builders.  The newly built — or should we say printed — home features a variety of curved walls that blend into high-end fir wood.  The 2,000-square-foot, three-bed, 2.5-bath “House Zero” will be showcased at South by Southwest on March 13 & 14.

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Texas Home Sales, Median Price Hit Record Highs For Seventh Straight Year

Recon – 3/4/2022

For the seventh year in a row, Texas home sales and median price hit record-breaking highs, according to the 2021 Texas Real Estate Year in Review report by Texas Realtors.  The number of homes sold statewide increased 6.2 percent to 416,853 sales last year. The median home price reached $300,000, up 15.7 percent from the previous year.

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iBorrow Provides $13.9M Acquisition Loan for Austin Office Building

REBusiness – 3/4/2022

iBorrow, a commercial bridge and direct lender, has provided a $13.9 million acquisition loan for an 86,910-square-foot office building located at 1200 E. Anderson Lane in North Austin. The three-story building sits on a 3.6-acre site and was fully leased at the time of the loan closing. The undisclosed borrower will use a portion of the proceeds to fund a capital improvement plan that is scheduled to be complete in October 2023.

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6 Things You Should Know About Austin’s Airport, Which Is Getting Busier These Days

Austin American Statesman  – 2/21/2022

Officials at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport this month said that passenger traffic, which had been rebounding since May, made 2021 the airport’s fourth-busiest year ever. A total of 1,595,821 passengers traveled through the airport in December, an increase of 209.3% from the previous December.  Click below to read more.

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3 Restaurant Openings To Keep An Eye On

ABJ – 3/4/2022

☛ An infusion of ramen and barbecue, curated by Tatsu Aikawa, chef-owner of Ramen Tatsu-Ya, will take over the shuttered Contigo location at 2027 Anchor Lane.
☛ J-Prime Steakhouse, an upscale San Antonio-based restaurant, will open its second location in Austin at 301 Brazos St. in the spring.
☛ Anchor Bar, incorporated as YTRAB Wings Inc. and a chain that boasts of offering the original buffalo wings, opens location No. 14 in Round Rock on March 8.

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Hiring, More Launches Into Space On Tap After CesiumAstro Raises $60M

ABJ – 3/2/2022

An Austin startup hopes to be one of the prime players in selling satellite-based communications devices to the companies and government agencies that need an out-of-the-box solution. To those ends, Austin-based CesiumAstro Inc. announced it raised $60 million in new venture capital funding which will help the company scale up to provide more of its on-satellite communication devices and hire more people.

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Developers Break Ground On Multifamily Buildings Near Mueller Control Tower

Community Impact – 3/3/2022

Developers are one step closer to finishing the project around the historic Mueller tower. Ryan Cos. officially broke ground on an unnamed 345-unit multifamily project in the Mueller neighborhood March 3.  The project will consist of two midrise—three- to five-story—buildings and approximately 2,500 sq. ft. of ground-floor retail space located near the corner of Berkman Dr. and McCurdy St.  Construction is expected to be complete in late 2023.

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These Blockbuster Austin Real Estate Deals Ranked Among Nation’s Biggest In 2021

ABJ – 3/1/2022

Austin saw some of the biggest office property sales in the United States in 2021, according to a new report by CommercialCafe.
♦ The sale of Indeed Tower ranked the highest of all Austin sales, at No. 14 nationwide and No. 2 in the region. Kilroy Realty Corp. bought the property from Trammell Crow Company in June for $580 million.
♦ Riata Corporate Park, the Northwest Austin office campus that houses companies including Accenture, Apple and United Healthcare, also changed hands for a significant price in 2021. KKR & Co. Inc. sold it to Starwood Capital Group for $315 million.
♦ The third Austin building on the list was the 600 Congress tower, formerly known as One American Center. Beacon Capital Partners bought the 32-story skyscraper from the California State Teachers’ Retirement System for almost $310 million.

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Flosports’ Growth Trajectory Means New Headquarters, More Sports Being Streamed, Tons Of Hiring

ABJ  – 2/28/2022

A would-be developer of indoor ski resorts that recently teamed up with Olympic alpine ski racer Bode Miller plans to bring snow-covered slopes to Texas as part of its larger bid to expand to more than 20 cities throughout North America.  Alpine-X, based in McLean, Virginia, said it has signed a letter of intent to build two indoor ski resorts in Texas, one in Austin and another in Dallas. The company plans to initially develop at least two projects in Texas, with the potential to add even more in the future.

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Austin Disaster Relief Network Signs Lease for New Hope Family Thrift Store

CoStar  – 3/1/2022

Austin Disaster Relief Network has signed a lease to open a new Hope Family Thrift Store.  A nonprofit organization made up of volunteers from about 200 Austin-area churches, the group signed a deal for 36,888 square feet at The Shops at Wells Branch where it will open its second North Austin location this summer at the confluence of MoPac Expressway, Wells Branch Parkway and West Howard Lane.

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Details Revealed On 224-Acre Georgetown Business Park, Including Innovative Homebuilder As First Tenant

ABJ  – 2/25/2022

Jackson-Shaw Co. has announced details regarding its 224-acre development known as CrossPoint Business District at the north end of the Austin metro, including its first tenant: Onx Inc., doing businesses as Onx Homes, a modular home manufacturer that is focused on sustainability.  Jackson Shaw officials said they will break ground in April on a 61.7-acre first phase that will include three buildings totaling 488,000 sq. ft. The expected completion is the second quarter of 2023.

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After Strong Rebound, Construction Levels Pose Risk to Austin’s Apartment Market

CoStar  – 3/1/2022

Austin, Texas’s apartment market had one of the fastest rebounds in the nation in 2021. Vacancies fell by double the national rate, and rents nearly doubled nationwide rent growth. Austin’s strong economy, which has generated the most white-collar job gains in the nation since the start of the pandemic, continues to generate strong demand for apartments.

Developers have also been watching the headlines, and have responded. With about 24,000 units underway, Austin has the second largest pipeline for apartment development in the nation behind Nashville. Naturally, local concerns about the ability to afford the rent have picked up. However, Austin remains affordable on a national scale.

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