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August 6, 2014
Behind the Deal: Why Austin Needs Parmer
Karlin and Trammell Crow have broken ground on Parmer 3.2, the first phase of Karlin's 400-acre master-planned technology and office park in North Central Austin. (Parmer 0 through 3.1 were not part of the plan.) TCC VP Brad Maples tells us how this fills a need in the market.
Brad says Austin is missing a true master-planned business park, especially for office tenants who want room to expand. Most of our existing product is already built out and can't accommodate organic growth. (Frankly, any development these days is a boon—we're in single-digit vacancy.) Brad says Parmer will target those companies and is working with the Chamber to assist in corporate relo bids. The first building is a 192k SF, three-story office facility with 64k SF floorplates. That's double the typical suburban Austin office project, Brad says, which is very appealing. The team is also putting in a substantial park with trees, fountains, and a food truck court.
Parmer 3.2, rendered here, will deliver in Q2 '15. Brad says the CBRE leasing team has been getting a lot of calls from tenants wanting into Parmer, so it's great to finally have a concrete timeline to offer. He hopes to cut a deal very soon. The team has been marketing to large tenants (TCC and Karlin are aiming to first lock in full-building or multi-floor users), and tells us so far his interest is 50/50 organic local growth and out-of-town relos. His team is already making plans for a second office building. Other members of the Parmer 3.2 team: STG Design and Austin Commercial.
But the park (laid out here) isn't only office—Brad says it has about 100 acres set aside for industrial development. (Parmer is currently zoned for up to 9M SF of office, industrial, hotel, and retail uses.) He tells us the team is working on infrastructure there now and says we'll be hearing more about this portion of the park in the near future. Industrial users there will benefit from a triple Freeport tax exemption, which means they won't pay state, local, or school taxes on short-term inventory.
Delivering Soon: San Antonio's Newest Data Center
Stream Data Centers is delivering Stream Private Data Center this month in Westover Hills. SVP Anthony Bolner tells us his firm built here because San Antonio has become a significant data center market over the last decade. Several major users (like Microsoft, which is expanding its facility now, and the NSA) have their facilities here because it's a safe location—without Houston's hurricanes or Dallas' tornadoes—and has very good connectivity. San Antonio also boasts a very stable power infrastructure with large available capacity, regulated market with stable pricing, and a diverse generation mix (including 14% nuclear, 13% wind, and 3% solar).
If that's not enough to draw you to San Antonio, Anthony says there's also been a number of new substations built recently, and Texas House Bill 1223 provides a sales tax exemption to large data center users. Stream Private Data Center will deliver fully commissioned in a few weeks with 1.2 MW of critical load, with scalability up to 7.2 MW. It's spec, and Anthony tells us no one has signed on yet, but activity in the sector is very good. His project is well suited to a large corporate user, but is also divisible. It's certified Tier 3 design and LEED Silver.
San Antonio's Ultra Creative Office Changes Hands
816 Camaron purchased Finesilver Building, one of the most creative office buildings in San Antonio. Peloton was selected to lease the 122k SF facility, which sits at the northern edge of the CBD at the I-35 and I-10 interchange. Lyndsay Walbran will manage Finesilver on site and Christi Griggs and Caitlin Birmingham will continue to lease the building. Christi says the building has been a work in progress since its 1993 transition from a uniform manufacturing facility. 45k SF of the building haven't been converted to leasable office space yet, so 816 Camaron will focus on changing that. (Christi says the leasable areas have maintained occupancy really well through the years.) What makes it so unique: The loft layout, wide common corridors, open ceilings, and creative materials. Christi tells us there's strong demand for creative office from San Antonio's young professionals, but very little product.
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