Austin Office Market Holds Steady in 3Q22

The Austin office market had a stable third quarter of 2022, with elevated demand but rising vacancy rates. The average rental rate jumped to over $41.00/SF, while vacancy climbed to 18.0%. The Austin market continues to see unprecedented development, with a full construction pipeline and 1.3 million square feet of construction starts in the third quarter of 2022. Annualized investment volume has decreased steadily over the year and was down 62.0% in the third quarter of 2022 at $320.8 million. Year to date, investment volume in the Austin market totals $1.66 billion. Healthy market
fundamentals and economic expansion should carry the Austin office market through the end of the year.

Rental Rates and Vacancy Climb to New Heights In the third quarter of 2022, rental rates continued to climb, and the overall rate posted $41.27/SF at the end of the quarter. Overall rates in the Austin market have increased by 3.6% year over year as landlords keep pace with demand and inflation. Both direct rates and sublease rates increased in the third quarter of 2022 to $42.19/SF and $35.20/SF, respectively. The average price discount for sublease space stands at 16.5%. Vacancy accelerated to 18.0%, fueled by construction deliveries and sublease space added to the market in the third quarter of 2022. Vacancy is likely to increase further as additional space delivers by year-end. The Class A market, which consists of more than 50% of the region’s building stock, had moderate changes in vacancy and availability quarter over quarter. Vacancy in the asset class rose 130 basis points to 17.2%, while availability also increased 130 basis points to 27.5%. Absorption remained positive in the third quarter of 2022, with a healthy 434,932 square feet taken up by occupiers. Click to read more at www.nmrk.com.

Self-storage Facility Along I-30 in West Dallas Trades in Recent Sale

JLL Capital Markets has closed the sale of a 1,252-unit self-storage facility at 2500 Lone Star Dr. in Dallas.

JLL represented the seller, CSW Development out of Austin, Texas, and procured the buyer, Madison Capital.

The property, which will be rebranded under the Go Store It brand, offers 117,503 rentable square feet that is currently 50% occupied. The three-story, Class A facility is climate-controlled throughout and has a 24-hour video surveillance system. In addition to the storage space, the property has a 1,000-square-foot office and a bike storage area.

2500 Lone Star Dr. is located just west of downtown Dallas and directly off Interstate 30, providing visibility to more than 150,000 vehicles per day. The immediate area surrounding the property has witnessed an abundance of residential and commercial developments in the last few years bringing the population within a three-mile radius to 130,607 residents. In addition, approximately 1,000 additional multifamily units are planned for delivery within the near future.

The JLL Capital Markets Investment Sales and Advisory team that represented the seller was led by Managing Directors Brian Somoza and Steve Mellon, Directors Matthew Wheeler and Adam Roossien and Analyst Jake Kinnear.

“Self-storage continues to draw a tremendous amount of investor interest, particular in the thriving Dallas Fort Worth metro, which has seen a population increase of more than 20% from 2010 to 2020, outpacing the national average,” Mellon noted.

Cold Storage Facility in North Dallas-Fort Worth Trades Hands

JLL Capital Markets announced today that it has closed the sale of Cold Creek Solutions Denton, a 374,560-square-foot Class A cold storage warehouse in Denton, Texas.

JLL represented the seller, Cold Creek Solutions, in the sale to an institutional buyer.

The recently completed building is approximately 50% leased to Southwest Warehouse Services. Cold Creek Solutions Denton features 45-foot clear heights for the warehouse space and a cold dock clear height of 28 feet, allowing for approximately 60,000 pallet positions, multi-tenanted space use and flexible temperature functionality. The project includes 53 dock positions with three ramps, 85 trailer parking spaces and 147 car parking spaces. The property consists of 306,240 square feet of freezer/cold storage, a 59,320-square-foot refrigerated dock and 9,000 square feet of office space.

Cold Creek Solutions Denton is positioned on approximately 23 acres at 6651 N Interstate 35 in the rapidly growing Denton Industrial submarket, which is in the northern part of the Dallas-Fort Worth MSA. The property sits adjacent to I-35, US-77, US-380 and Loop 288 providing excellent access to major U.S. east-west and north-south thoroughfares. As a result, the property has convenient access to some of the fastest growing parts of the DFW metroplex, including Frisco, McKinney, Allen and Prosper to the north and Alliance Airport and north Fort Worth to the west.

The JLL Capital Markets Industrial team representing the seller was led by Senior Managing Directors Dustin Volz and Stephen Bailey, Director Dom Espinosa, Associate Wells Waller and Analyst Cole Sutter.

Fully Leased Industrial Building in North Austin Trades Hands

JLL Capital Markets and Titan Development have closed the sale of Titan Development’s Gateway 35 Commerce Center Building 1, a newly built 294,297-square-foot single-tenant industrial building in the Austin suburb of Georgetown, Texas, occupied by CelLink Corporation.

JLL represented the seller, Titan Development, in the sale.

Completed in June 2022, Gateway 35 Commerce Center Building 1 is a 100% climate-controlled, cross-dock building featuring 36-foot clear heights, 94 trailer stalls, 60-foot speed bays, 185-foot truck court and 220 parking spaces (0.75/1000 square feet). The building was pre-leased to CelLink, serving as a mission-critical facility for the tenant and is their first manufacturing and distribution facility in Texas. CelLink, which is based in California, manufactures the world’s largest and most electrically and thermally conductive flexible circuits.

Positioned on 20.96 acres at 2550 N IH-35 Frontage Road, the property is in North Austin at the intersection of Interstate 35 and Highway 130, two of the most vital north/south thoroughfares for the Central Texas region. As a result, the tenant can reach nearly 20 million residents within a three-hour drive. Furthermore, Gateway 35 Commerce Center Building 1 is located 35 minutes from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and is less than 30 minutes from the market’s largest demand drivers, including Tesla Gigafactory and Samsung Taylor Plant. In addition, the area’s labor force encompasses more than 700,000 potential workers and spans 35 miles to Temple and 45 miles to Buda.

The JLL Capital Markets Industrial team representing the seller was led by Senior Managing Directors Trent Agnew and Dustin Volz, Directors Dom Espinosa, Associate Josh Villarreal and Analyst Megan Babovec.

Huffines Communities Breaks Ground on Mesquite’s Largest Planned Community

A groundbreaking ceremony was held Wednesday for the newest Huffines Signature Community™, Solterra, in Mesquite. Developer Huffines Communities commemorated the project milestone with Mesquite Mayor Bruce Archer, members of the Mesquite City Council and many others from the real estate and builder community, celebrating the largest development in the city’s history, with 3,900 new homes and 300 townhomes on 1,530 acres upon project completion. Solterra is expected to have a tax value of more than $1.6 billion with the first phase of development delivering 787 lots in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Located just 11 miles from the Dallas central business district, new homes in this community will start from $280,000 and range up to the high $500,000s, averaging 1,200 – 6,000-square-feet. Huffines Communities has taken care to protect the property’s legacy with 560 acres of open space, preserving pecan groves, orchards and pastures that were a part of the original Lucas Farms. The farm famously provided fresh meats and produce for Lucas B&B Café, the Fathion P. Lucas family restaurant which opened in downtown Dallas in 1911. The family purchased the property to supply the restaurant with farm fresh food, thus being one of the first farm-to-market restaurants.

“We are celebrating the building of homes and the building of relationships with Huffines Communities and others,” said Mayor Archer. “These houses will be a place for families to live and create relationships in the Mesquite community with new neighbors and new friends for generations.”

“We’re thrilled to celebrate this groundbreaking in a market still seeing massive growth,” said Phillip Huffines, co-owner at Huffines Communities. “We have worked with the City of Mesquite and other leaders on public/private partnership efforts for several years to bring this dream to fruition, marking one of our largest projects to date. Everyone involved has worked hard to develop a sustainable, one-of-kind community experience and lifestyle complete with over-the-top outdoor amenities and economic benefits for the city.”

Like other Huffines’ Signature Communities, Solterra features an abundance of first-class amenities with a grand entryway greeting visitors entering the community. In fact, the team from HGTV’s popular Treehouse Masters show will design and construct a special treehouse park just for the community from Nelson Treehouse.

Huffines Communities took care to protect and restore the site’s pecan groves, orchards and pasture areas and features a promenade park located in the median. Fun amenities were added for the children and families, including a fishing hut called “The Catfish Hole,” where kids and adults can feed fish in a covered enclosed space, rain or shine, and fish from the wraparound deck directly over the community’s new 30-acre lake. Residents can also enjoy swimming, kayaking and paddle boarding in the community lake. Countless other amenities abound such as community playgrounds, a large dog park, beer garden, food truck park, event lawn and space for a craft fair/farmer market esplanade.

The community’s resort-style pool complex will include an adult pool, an Olympic-sized lap pool, a pool with slides, a kid’s pool with splash pads and a large sand beach with direct access to the lake complete with 14 miles of bike and hiking trails that connect to the regional trail system. A grand amenity center includes a coffee shop, communal gathering rooms with lounge seating and TVs and offices with covered balconies and direct access to the pools and fitness center. The world-class fitness facility spans more than 4,000 square feet and will have state-of-the-art equipment, including cardio machines, weight training, aerobics rooms, bathrooms and locker space. Solterra also has plans for a restaurant within the amenity complex where families inside and outside the community can gather.

Thirteen prominent home builders are under contract and will start building their first homes during spring 2023. Builders in the first phase are: Cadence, CastleRock, Chesmar, David Weekley, FirstTexas, Gehan, Highland, HistoryMaker, Impression, MHI, Lennar, Shaddock and TriPointe Homes.

Solterra is located on Cartwright Road, just 2 miles east of Interstate 635. The development is within immediate proximity to three elementary schools, two middle schools, and two high schools either on-site or on Solterra’s borders. Vanguard High School, Mesquite’s first “choice” high school, has opened for the 2021-2022 school year.

Huffines Communities has engaged LJA Engineers to design and plan the new community.

Huffines Communities has nine active communities under development in the North Texas region and most of the homes in these communities start in the $300,000s-$800,000s. Each community is thoughtfully designed to facilitate interaction amongst neighbors and connect people within the neighborhood.

Life Science is on the Rise in Chicago. But How Does the Market Compare to Others Across the U.S.?

Not as flashy as other sectors, but life science mustn’t be overlooked when considering new opportunities. The sector has continued to gain traction in recent years, and Chicago has been highlighted as one of the best markets for this kind of venture.

Despite turmoil in the public markets, a slowdown in VC funding and volatility in interest rates, Chicago remains well-positioned for future growth, according to a recent report by Newmark.

Still an emerging life science market compared to others across the U.S., Chicago is home to 11 research universities and several hospital systems as well as pharmaceutical and medical device companies including Abbott Labs, Abbvie, Baxter, Hospira (Pfizer), Tempus, Akorn, Fresenius Kabi, Astellas Pharma, and Horizon Therapeutics.

Leasing has remained strong throughout 2022, based on the report, and many tenants have expanded existing leases like Portal Innovations, a life science investment and incubation company, or signed new ones. And a major plus? Challenges that continue to affect tenant demand for conventional office do not exist for laboratory product—life science landlords can rely on research and development being done onsite and not remotely.

And with new leases comes more jobs. Life science job growth in Chicago continues to be strong, with the number of data and medical scientist roles increasing the most. In fact, Newmark said the number of recent graduate degrees being earned for biological and biomedical sciences has doubled in the last 15 years.

Market Stats:

Market Size: 1,527,910 SF
Rent: $35-$60 PSF
Vacancy Rate: 12%
Under Construction: 543,454 SF
Proposed: 1,950,000 SF
1H22 Venture Capital Funding: $326M
12-Month Sales Volume: $131M
Compared to Texas, another major player in the sector, Chicago sits just below Austin in terms of market size, 1.5 million square feet versus 1.6 million square feet, respectively.

Austin’s market has continued to benefit from demographic tailwinds, based on the report, with life science employment expanding nearly 74% in the last few years and expected to grow at 6.5% through 2025. Life science VC funding for healthcare and life science companies has also reportedly increased 47.8% year-over-year in 1H2022, making it among the top performing cluster markets.

The Innovation District seems to be the heartbeat the area’s sector, along with the Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin. Recent developments include Parmer Labs, delivering 100,000 square feet of lab and office space in 2023, as well as the conversion of the Highland Mall into the ACC Bioscience Incubator.

To widen the lens even further, Chicago and Austin, though growing rapidly, have significantly smaller markets when compared to Houston’s 8,034,643 square feet, Philadelphia’s 11,685,611 square feet, or Maryland’s 17,259,502 square feet. The same, too, could be said for Boston, San Francisco, San Diego and Raleigh/Durham—the largest life science markets in the U.S, making up over 93 million square feet of GMP space with a future construction and renovation pipeline of 33.2 million square feet.