A suicidal man upset with the IRS deliberately slammed his single-engine Piper Cherokee into the Echelon Building located in the 9400 block of Research Blvd. (U.S. 183) in Northwest Austin. The pilot, Joseph Stack of Austin, along with a federal employee died in the crash. Echelon I houses offices for the Internal Revenue Service IRS) but it is not the location where tax returns are processed so it will not affect federal income tax processing. View photos of the building and read more: Pilot’s online suicide note blasts IRS (Star-Telegram, 2-18-10).
NAI Austin broker Philip Bible negotiated the sale of a 16,883 sf office building to the Mann Eye Institute and Laser Center on behalf of Robert and Kym Wunsch of Waterstone Development. Located at 4314 W. Braker Lane, the building is 100% occupied. The majority of the building is occupied by Regions Bank.
Waterstone Development, a full-service land development company, has relocated to its new corporate headquarters at 3310 N. Capital of Texas Highway.
NAI Austin is one of Austin’s most experienced commercial real estate firms and the Austin area representative for NAI GlobalTM, the industry’s largest global network of real estate service-providers, comprising 5,000 brokers in 325 offices serving more than 55 countries worldwide. For more information on NAI Austin, please visit www.naiaustin.com.
NAI Austin industrial specialist Jerry Heare along with Oxford Commercial brokers Rick Whiteley and Jeff Coddington represented Texas Electric Cooperatives (TEC) in locating and purchasing their new Austin headquarters location. The 7,700 sf office condo is located at 1122 Colorado Street, on the 24th floor of the Westgate Tower. The suite was purchased from Kidd, Whitehurst & Harkness General Partnership.
TEC represents cooperative electric utilities across Texas as well as offering repair and remanufacturing services, waste disposal and environmental consulting. They operate the only cooperatively owned utility pole production facility in the nation. The new, centrally-located downtown office will complement the existing 160,000 sf facility in Georgetown and the 50-acre manufacturing operation in Jasper.
NAI Austin is one of Austin’s most experienced commercial real estate firms and the Austin area representative for NAI GlobalTM, the industry’s largest global network of real estate service-providers, comprising 5,000 brokers in 325 offices serving more than 55 countries worldwide. For more information on NAI Austin, please visit www.naiaustin.com.
Birch, Becker & Moorman, LLP has subleased 1,700 square feet of office space in Stillhouse II. The condo became available in the course of the merger between Stewart Title Austin and Gracy Title Company. The new entity, now known as “Gracy Title, a Stewart Company,” is headquartered at 100 Congress.
Lise Luchsinger Wineland, an Office specialist with NAI Austin, represented Gracy Title in the transaction.
NAI Austin is one of Austin’s most experienced commercial real estate firms and the Austin area representative for NAI GlobalTM, the industry’s largest global network of real estate service-providers, comprising 5,000 brokers in 325 offices serving more than 55 countries worldwide. For more information on NAI Austin, please visit www.naiaustin.com.
The business communication solution company NexxLinx is expanding its services to Austin. Represented by NAI Office Specialists Lise Wineland and Josie Marshman, the President and CEO of NexxLinx Craig Mento leased 30,380 square feet of space in Suite 110 of the Northview Business Center at 9100 IH-35 South. This is its first location in Texas, and will create local jobs as well as provide a great quality of life for its current employees transferring to Austin.
NexxLinx was started in 1999 in Atlanta and allows companies to work more efficiently by using their own technology systems and software. Its partners include Kelly Services, Inc., IBM and PRC, and it serves companies such as Bank of America, Wachovia, Time Warner and Verizon.
Amber Oaks has added two new buildings: an addition of 150,000 square feet to the already existing 10-building office park located at the southwest corner of RR 620 and Parmer Lane in northwest Austin. The new buildings H and I have 100,000 square feet 50,000 square feet respectively, with a parking ratio of 5:1,000. This new addition was completed last September and no leases have been signed for space in the new buildings.
Amber Oaks is conveniently located next to Lifetime Fitness, a 120,000 square feet fitness center with various playing courts, a rock-climbing wall, pool and state-of-the-art equipment. There are 40 restaurants within two miles of Amber Oaks, and developers are adding three retail pad sites.
NAI Austin’s Senior Broker Phillip Bible and Land Specialist Meredith Sloan represented Dr. Greg Biehle in marketing and selling a prime retail site, located at the southeast corner of 35 St. and Glenview, one block west of Dr. Biehle’s popular veterinary clinic in the Brykerwood area.
This 15,512 square foot site includes a commerical building formerly known as the Gorbet Building. The new owners plan to remodel the building to house a new, Austin-original, Argentine-style restaurant.
As more Austin-area developments are looking to become LEED certified to reduce their impact on the environment, they are also moving up in their environmental certification.
Last week, a North Austin office development, which started construction in January, became gold LEED pre-certified as a result of its energy and water efficiency, use of local and recycled materials and the provision of facilities for bicycling commuters. Located at Oak Creek Drive and MoPac Expressway, Oak Creek Plaza is a Class A 50,000 square foot office building on four acres of land near the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s commuter rail. Real estate developers have figured out that developing LEED certified office buildings will not only be a benefit to the environment but will also make their buildings more attractive to tenants, especially those from the West Coast. Oak Creek Plaza is one of the first gold LEED certified projects in Austin and will be finished in October of this year.
In May, the Ronald McDonald House of Austin and Central Texas became platinum LEED certified as a result of its landscape architecture and rooftop solar panels that power at least half of the rooms and avoid 30,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions annually. Located at 1315 Barbara Jordan Boulevard and completed in 2007, this 28,500 square foot facility is the first solar-powered Ronald McDonald House in the world.
NAI Austin Office Specialists Josie Marshman and Trisha Sims negotiated the sublease of 2,526 sq. ft. of office space to the Tom James Company. The office, located at 3410 Far West in Suite 300, will help the Tom James Company expand its operations in Austin as well as encourage new jobs and business.
The Tom James Company is the world’s largest custom clothing manufacturer and retailer with offices and stores in the U.S., Australia, and Europe. As a convenience, they can meet customers at their homes or offices to help them plan a wardrobe that includes business, casual, social and formal attire. Tom James offers more than 500 suit fabrics, 250 shirt fabrics and thousands of ties to choose from, and uses their costumers’ exact measurements to make the perfect piece of clothing. The Tom James Company has been in business for more than 40 years.
The South Austin area surrounding South Congress and Ben White is growing substantially as it plays host to development projects which include residential, retail and office space. Also being built is the South Central Transit Center, a new part of the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority system, which will serve to improve the city’s public transportation, beginning in early fall.
Some projects coming online soon are 2900 South Congress, a 21-unit office complex and SoCo Lofts, a housing complex with more than 20,000 sf of restaurant, retail and office space. The Abby at Ben White, a 48,938 sf shopping center built in 2007, recently came onto the market. It is currently home to a diverse group of tenants and is selling for $12.5 million.
This area, just minutes from downtown, has become a bustling hub of expansion with a live/work/play design. Its convenient location is not only close to the heart of Austin, but is also near many major roadways, such as U.S. Highways 35, 290 West, 71, and a short distance from both 360 and MoPac. It is also just minutes from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and rests on the doorstep of St. Edward’s University.
For more information on the South Austin commercial real estate market or properties, contact the professionals at NAI Austin through www.naiaustin.com. For retail information, contact NAI Austin Retail Specialist Sherry Sanchez; for office information, contact NAI Austin Office Specialist Lise Wineland.
