CAPELLA   AUSTIN  NEWSLETTER

March 20, 2022

Austin Office Market Remains Strong in 2022, NAI Reports

Connect Media – 3/18/2022

With the 1Q 2022 coming to an end, the first two months of Austin’s office activity shows overall vacancy is at 14.6%, up 90 basis points from this time last year. Leasing activity was up 50% year-over-year, and net absorption was higher and out of the red during January and February compared to 2021.

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Sovereign Flavors To Move HQ To Kyle From Southern California

ABJ – 3/18/2022

Sovereign Flavors, a beverage development and flavoring company from Santa Ana, California, announced it was planning to relocate its headquarters to Kyle just south of Austin. The 80,000 SF facility will also house the company’s manufacturing, quality assurance and research and development departments.

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New Micro Apartments Headed for East Sixth Street in Austin

CoStar – 3/17/2022

A new micro-unit apartment complex is underway on East Sixth Street within walking distance to Plaza Saltillo Rail Station in Austin, Texas.  Watershed Development Group broke ground on Sixth and Chicon, a 60-unit project being developed at 1812-1814 E. Sixth St. in East Austin. Cadence McShane Construction Co. is building the six-story property which will offer units ranging from 252 square feet to 465 square feet, with work scheduled to wrap up in summer 2023.

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New York Developer Breaks Ground on What’s Planned as One of Texas Capital’s Tallest Towers

CoStar – 3/15/2022

An East Coast developer and Midwestern real estate company have officially moved dirt on a site where a 58-story, 561,000-square-foot mixed-use tower is expected to change the skyline in Austin, Texas.

New York-based Tishman Speyer and Minneapolis-based Ryan Cos. are developing the tower with residential and office uses called 321 West at 321 W. 6th St. in downtown Austin that has been in the works since at least 2019. Plans for 321 West include 369 apartment units, a sky lounge on the 55th floor, 140,000 sq. ft. of office space, 1,000 sq. ft. of retail on the first floor, and parking slated for floors 2 to 11.

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Austin Metro Area’s Median Home Price Climbs To All-Time High Of $500,000

Austin Culture Map – 3/17/2022

The Austin Board of Realtors divulged that the metro area’s median home price in February jumped to an all-time high of $499,995. That’s 27.9% above the median price ($391,000) in February 2021 and 5% above the median price ($476,000) in January 2022. The median sale price of a home within the Austin city limits rose to $565,000, a record for the month of February.

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Multifamily Availability Remains Tight in Texas

CoStar – 3/18/2022

The share of available apartment units for all of Texas’ major markets remains drum tight, ranging from 4% to 5% through March. The pre-pandemic average for multifamily availability typically ranged from 5% to 7% across major markets. The trend is a result of the wave of pent-up demand last year, yielding falling vacancy rates and record-setting rent growth.

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Austin Unlocks Second-Highest Growth Rate For Middle-Class Homeowners  In U.S.

Austin Culture Map – 3/18/2022

The ranks of middle-class homeowners in the Austin area grew at one of the country’s most impressive rates from 2010 to 2020, according to a new study released by the National Association of Realtors.  Among middle-income housing markets with at least 50,000 more middle-income, home-owning households during the 10-year period, the Austin metro area tacked on 61,323 of these households.

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At SXSW, American Airlines CEO Says Carrier Is Betting Big On Austin

Austin American Statesman – 3/18/2022

As air travel bounces back from the downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic, American Airlines CEO Doug Parker said the global carrier is betting on Austin. “Austin is very much part of our growth plan,” Parker said during a South by Southwest session. “We’re acquiring more gates. We’re expanding our Admirals Club to 15,000 square feet.”

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A Home For Robots: During SXSW 2022, Austin Debuts New Robotics, Drone Testing Site

Austin American Staetsman – 3/14/2022

Austin-area companies now have a dedicated space where they can test and develop robots and drones.  The Center for Autonomous Robotics, a co-working space and testing facility, is a partnership between Austin accelerator and incubator Capital Factory and Austin drone company Guinn Partners.  The 10,000-sq. ft. foot space is at Plaza on the Lake, a complex off Capital of Texas Highway right next to the Pennybacker Bridge.

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Flash, Austin Startup Putting Parking In The Cloud, Lands $250M-Plus Investment

ABJ – 3/16/2022

Austin’s FlashParking Inc. landed a $250 million-plus strategic investment led by Austin-based private equity firm Vista Equity Partners, which acquired a minority stake in the business. Flash plans to use the new money to expand its mobility operating system and payments platform, and also plans to hire more than 200 employees in 2022.

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Endeavor, Long View Equity Team On Retail Center Near Dripping Springs

ABJ – 3/17/2022

A commercial center is planned on 8.7 acres near the bustling Belterra community, another spot for businesses to flock on the road between Austin and Dripping Springs. Long View Equity LLC and Endeavor Real Estate Group LLC have partnered to develop Ledgestone East, which will have both retail and office space, at the corner of Ledge Stone Drive and U.S. Route 290. The center will span 58,000 square feet. It is slated to break ground in May and open in the third quarter of 2023.

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El Mercado’s Downtown Austin Property Sold; Site To Be Redeveloped

Austin American Statesman – 3/18/2022

After almost three decades, El Mercado Restaurant Uptown will serve its last enchiladas and margaritas on Monday, as the site of the downtown Austin fixture on Lavaca Street is being sold for redevelopment.

The buyer is Infra Tech Ventures, a company that is primarily a hotel developer based in Corpus Christi, said Sam Calliham with Harrison-Pearson Associates, who represented Infra Tech in the purchase.  Infra Tech’s Ajit David said his company’s plans for the property have not yet been determined, although a hotel and condominium project is one possibility.

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New High-Rise Proposed Just South of Downtown Austin, Texas

CoStar – 3/17/2022

Initial plans have surfaced for a 475,000-sq. ft. mixed-use building on the edge of fast-growing downtown Austin, Texas, next to the Austin American-Statesman 18.9-acre redevelopment site planned by Austin-based Endeavor Real Estate Group.

Paperwork filed by The Drenner Group, a land use law firm, with Austin City Hall shows a 330-foot office and retail building is planned for 311 S. Congress. The proposed 311 S. Congress project must still go through a formal vetting process where the city of Austin will review the project’s zoning and site plan.

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Developer Hopes To Build Tequila-Inspired Neighborhood

ABJ – 3/14/2022

Nascent developer Campo Azul Development LLC wants to bring a unique residential subdivision to Hutto, a suburb north of Austin forecasting significant growth in the next five years.

Atanasio Ranch — which would be named after Campo Azul Development President and CEO Francisco Perez’s tequila company based in Mexico, Atanasio Tequila — would have 99 homes on 17 acres, as drawn out now. It will likely be the first of several developments for this new firm, which has scooped up land north of Austin.

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Barings Fully Leases 701 Rio Office Building In Austin, TX

Connect Media  – 3/17/2022

Roku Inc. is expanding its footprint at an office building in Austin, Texas, adding to the increasing technology real estate that’s making the state capital one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities.  The company that produces television streaming devices has added 22,292 square feet in Northwest Austin at Stonebridge Plaza I at 9606 N. MoPac Expressway.

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JLL Closes Sale Of Upscale Active Adult Community Near Austin

Connect Media – 3/15/2022

JLL Capital Markets announced that it closed the sale of Northstar Georgetown, a 210-unit, upscale, low-rise active adult community in Georgetown, Texas. A joint venture between Bain Capital Real Estate and Capitol Seniors Housing acquired the property. Completed in 2021, Northstar Georgetown is an age restricted (55+) community on 11.51 acres at 2401 Westinghouse Rd., near IH-35 and State Highway 130.

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Two New Health Clinics Breaking Ground In Eastern Travis County

Community Impact  – 3/17/2022

Central Health will be breaking ground on two new health centers in eastern Travis County. One community health center is located in Hornsby Bend, and the other is located in Del Valle.  The new community health clinics are a part of Central Health’s Equity-focused Service Delivery Strategic Plan, which is a plan to develop an equitable, more patient-focused health care system in Travis County.  Currently, there are temporary clinics operating in these areas, but the new health centers will be permanent.

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