Seasoned developers start work on Austin luxury apartments near Whole Foods HQ

Oden Hughes LLC and CWS Capital Partners LLC have created a joint venture to build an upscale apartment community just west of downtown near the flagship Whole Foods Market Inc. store on Sixth Street.

The 226-unit complex with associated retail has broken ground at 1301 W. Fifth St. on a 1.6-acre site that previously was occupied by an AT&T office building and fleet parking lot.

Click to read more at Austin Business Journal.

Pharmaceutical giant Merck selects Austin for potential IT hub

One of the biggest promises of Dell Medical School’s creation in Austin — and one that has yet to take shape — is the creation of an “Innovation District,” where promising companies will work alongside academics to steer the future of health care.

Now one of those big pieces could be falling into place. Merck & Co., a global pharmaceutical giant with annual sales of more than $39 billion, wants to create a 600-job information technology hub in Austin, and is in line for an economic incentive agreement worth up to $856,000.

Click to read the rest of this Article at Austin Business Journal.

Real estate deals: Austin

USTIN – Here is a roundup of breaking real estate deals and announcements in the Austin area:

• Apto Solutions Inc. renewed its lease for 24,000 sf and expanded by another 32,000 sf at 3815-A Jarrett Way.

• Iron Mountain Information Management LLC renewed its lease for 41,656 sf at 2515 Brockton Ave.

• Merchandise Solutions LLC leased 34,500 sf at 15400 Long Vista Dr.

• Boot Barn renewed its lease for 25,269 sf of retail space in Capital Plaza, 5400 N. I-35 near Cameron Rd.

• Arte Sano LLC leased 18,300 sf at 6110 Trade Center Dr.

Read more at the Austin Business Journal

Another high-rise hotel pegged for Austin; Trump name no longer in cards

Let’s get this out of the way first: The Trump name will not be attached to a high-rise hotel planned for just east of the Texas Capitol in Austin.

Negotiations about attaching the president’s name to the proposed tower at 12th and Red River streets, on the site of the Brick Oven Restaurant, broke down before the November election, said Jim Wittliff, president of Austin-based Land Answers Inc.

Click to read more at Austin Business Journal.

Domain to reach new heights with its tallest towers yet

Endeavor Real Estate Group LLC has confirmed plans to construct the tallest buildings at The Domain in North Austin: a combined 618,000-plus square feet in the Domain 11 and Domain 12 office towers.

Domain 11 will reach 15 stories and 312,024 rentable square feet and Domain 12 will soar to 17 stories with 306,881 square feet. Both will rise southeast of the Whole Foods Market Inc. store at the northern end of the mixed-use center, about 10 miles north of downtown off MoPac Expressway. They won’t be far from major offices for HomeAway Inc. and co-working giant WeWork.

Click to read more at Austin Business Journal.

Riverside Resources plans major office park on former site of AMD campus near Austin airport

With most commercial real estate eyes fixed on new office buildings in downtown Austin and The Domain, another expansive project is underway in Southeast Austin — largely under the radar screen.

Since late 2013, Austin-based Riverside Resources has been quietly acquiring large portions of Advanced Micro Devices Inc.’s former campus near East Ben White Boulevard and Montopolis Drive.

Click to read more at Austin Business Journal.