CAPELLA   AUSTIN  NEWSLETTER

June 19, 2022

Tech Fuels Multifamily Growth in Austin

CoStar – 6/15/2022

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Austin has become emblematic of the trends in housing that are shaking up major cities around the country. By the end of 2021, annual rent growth in the Austin apartment market reached 20%, the highest figure in the state and the sixth-highest in the nation for any metropolitan area with 2 million or more residents.  Developers appear to be making big bets that Austin’s apartment market will continue to be red hot in the coming years.

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Downtown Austin’s Population Popped 79% From 2010 To 2020

Austin Culture Map – 6/6/2022

The population of downtown Austin has surged from 4,222 in 1990 and 7,635 in 2010 to 13,648 in 2020, according to a report released by the Downtown Austin Alliance. That translates into a 223% population spike between 1990 and 2020 and a 79% jump from 2010 to 2020.

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Developer Breaks Ground on 750-Unit Apartment Project in Austin

CoStar – 616//2022

A developer plans to build a multifamily project totaling two apartment complexes on 37 acres at 10801 Wayne Riddell Loop near South First Street and Farm-to-Market Road 1626 in South Austin, Tx, that are expected to bring 750 apartment units online by 2024.

Austin-based OHT Partners has already broken ground on the first phase of the multifamily development. Called Lenox Woods, the property is expected to complete the first 402 apartment units by late 2023. The second phase of the development, which has not yet been named, would build out the remaining 348 units and be completed in 2024.

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More Apartments Headed To Austin’s St. Elmo District, South Of Downtown

Austin American Statesman  – 6/11/2022

Travis County Cashes In As Second Wealthiest Place In Texas

Austin Culture Map – 6/14/2022

With many tech workers in Central Texas hauling in more than $100,000 a year and home values soaring, it stands to reason that Austin is flush with cash.  A new ranking from personal finance website SmartAsset lists Travis County as the second wealthiest county in Texas. Midland County, where the oil boom has created a gusher of wealth, holds the No. 1 spot.

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Caterpillar Moving Global Headquarters to Irving, Texas

Connect Media – 6/14/2022

The Caterpillar offices in Irving are going to get a whole lot busier. The world-renowned farm and mining equipment company made the announcement midday Tuesday. The company will begin transitioning its headquarters during 2022. YTexas says this is the 60th company to relocate its corporate headquarters to Texas in the past year.

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Former Facebook Security Chief Moving Startup To Austin From San Francisco — But Don’t Expect Physical Office

ABJ – 6/16/2022

A former Facebook chief security officer is moving his cybersecurity startup to Austin from San Francisco. Max Kelly, who co-founded Redacted Inc. in 2015, and several of the company’s other executives are moving to Austin.  While the company is moving its HQ here, it operates remotely and won’t have an office, part of a growing trend among tech startups.

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Austin Housing Inventory Spiked In May, ABOR Numbers Show

ABJ – 6/16/2022

The May housing report produced by the Austin Board of Realtors shows home prices in Central Texas have continued to rise, but inventory is also starting to go up. The report shows that in Central Texas in May, the median price of a home rose nearly 20% year over year, tying April’s record of $550,000. Homes spent an average of 15 days on the market. Active listings went up nearly 150% from this time last year, pushing inventory to 1.2 months of inventory compared to the 0.7 months from last May.

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Buc-ee’s Aims To Build ‘World’s Biggest Convenience Store’ in Central Texas

CoStar – 6/13/2022

Buc-ee’s, a recognizable brand of convenience stores and gas stations in Texas and other Southern states, is planning to start construction this fall on a 75,000-square-foot travel center at 10070 Interstate 10 in Luling, Texas, a small town about one hour south of Austin. The new Buc-ee’s location in Luling is expected to have 120 fuel pumps and would employ at least 200 workers once operational.

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Central Texas Hospital Systems Invest Billions In Expansions To Keep Pace With Population Boom

Community Impact – 6/16/2022

Central Texas is on pace to gain more than 600 hospital beds in the next three years, including two new hospitals in growing suburban areas, two new children’s hospitals in Northwest Austin, a new behavioral health hospital and expansions at seven existing facilities. Combined, three major health care systems are investing almost $2.5 billion in physical infrastructure to increase access to services and meet the needs of the growing region.

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Funding Wrap: $34M Raised For Metaverse Worlds, Much More

ABJ – 6/13/2022

• Zello Inc., an Austin company with a push-to-talk voice communications app, is taking on venture capital funding for the first time. Zello plans to use the $20 Million in debt and equity funding to accelerate product development and expand its team of 65 full-time employees.
• HackNotice, an Austin-based threat awareness platform, raised a $7 million series A funding round.
• Austin’s Colorcast Inc., which has developed a social media app for following live spots, raised a $3.5 million seed round to help it continue to grow.
• Austin’s Double A Labs Inc. closed a $3.5 million round of friends and family funding to build up its team and expand its metaverse platform.
Click below to read more.

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$267 Million Film, TV Studio Proposed For Austin Metro Area

Austin American Statesman – 6/10/2022

A $267 million studio for film and television production could be coming to San Marcos, and the city and Hays County officials have agreed to provide millions in tax breaks to help make it happen.

Hill Country Studios, a subsidiary of Hill Country Group LLC, has proposed a state-of-the-art production, television, film and streaming studio that the company said would be the largest of its kind in Texas. The plans call for 820,000 sq. ft. of production offices, commercial space, four workshops, back lots and 12 sound stages. The studio would be built in the existing La Cima development, on 75 acres near West Centerpoint Road, West Wonder World Drive and RM 12. the project would be built in three stages starting in April 2023, with a goal of being completed by 2025.

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Real Estate Firm Acquires Land To Develop Industrial Hub Near Austin, Texas

CoStar – 6/16/2022

A 188-acre site near Samsung’s planned $17 billion semiconductor plant outside of Austin, Texas, will be transformed into an industrial hub.

Titan Development Ltd. acquired the land in late May from the city of Hutto, an Austin suburb that neighbors Taylor, Texas, where Samsung is planning to build its newest semiconductor plant. The land, called Hutto Mega TechCenter, will be developed into an industrial park. Both Titan and Hutto are marketing the site to companies seeking to relocate to the Austin area.  Hutto Mega TechCenter, which is zoned as light industrial, is located near SH-130 toll road and adjacent to Hutto’s 450-acre megasite.

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H-E-B May Be Headed To Manor, Alongside Other Retailers And Hundreds Of Apartments

ABJ  – 6/17/2022

A new mixed-use development planned for eastern Travis County could be anchored by an H-E-B.

Developers have secured a handful of approvals, including an incentives agreement, to aid with the creation of the 95-acre hub for living and shopping at the Manor Crossing project, at the northwest corner of U.S. Hwy 290 and FM 973.  Plans call for 600 multifamily units and up to 425,000 sq. ft. of commercial space.  The first portion of Manor Crossing could open in July 2023, with the final portion coming online in June 2025.

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Round Rock Site for New “Build-for-Rent” Community

Connect Media – 6/17/2022

Public-Private Partnership to Develop 1 MSF Spec Industrial Project in Kyle, Texas

REBusiness  – 6/13/2022

A public-private partnership between developer Alliance Industrial Co., Kyle Economic Development and the Greater San Marcos Partnership will build a 1 million-sq. ft. speculative industrial project in Kyle, a southern suburb of Austin.

Branded Kyle/35 Logistics Park, the development will consist of five facilities ranging in size from approx. 140,000 to 475,000 sq. ft. Buildings will feature clear heights of 36 to 40 feet, a mix of single-load and cross-dock configurations and ample employee and trailer parking spaces. Completion is slated for the first quarter of 2023.

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Apple Lining Up Land To Expand North Austin Campus

Community Impact – 6/16/2022

Apple Inc. is preparing for the next phase of development at its new campus off West Parmer Lane. Executives have their eyes on roughly 53 acres of ranch land they’d like to transform. They’re asking Austin City Hall to annex the property so it can be rezoned for a variety of uses. Apple has laid out plans to develop the land in five phases. Apple already has four large buildings on the site, which are receiving finishing touches from construction crews. This annexation seems to be the next step in that timeline.

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Two Real Estate Investment Companies Splash Into Austin With Apartment Deal

CoStar – 6/15/2022

Two real estate investment companies, Maryland-based Federal Capital Partners and Dallas-based VaultCap Partners, joined together to acquire a 200-unit apartment property in Austin, Texas. The companies acquired Huntington Meadows, located in East Austin, through an off-market transaction. Huntington Meadows is located at 7000 Decker Lane and adjacent to Lake Walter E. Long Lake. The 210,476-square-foot garden-style apartment property was built in 1998.

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Samsung Picks Contractor for New Central Texas Semiconductor Plant

CoStar – 6/14/2022

Samsung Electronics has selected W.G. Yates & Sons Construction Co., also known as Yates Construction, to build 6 million square feet of a semiconductor fabrication facility at its planned $17 billion plant on 1,200 acres in Taylor, Texas. The plant, which is expected to support about 2,000 high-tech jobs on-site and thousands more in the surrounding area, is planned to produce 5G, artificial intelligence, high-performance computing and mobile technology.

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