Lionstone Investments Snaps Up Austin Office Campus

By Keith Loria, Contributing Editor

Rollingwood Center I and II in Austin, Texas

Lionstone Investments has acquired Rollingwood Center I and II, a two-building, Class A office complex totaling 214,300 square feet in the Southwest submarket of Austin, Texas, from Endeavor Real Estate Group. The price was not disclosed.

HFF secured a 15-year, fixed-rate acquisition loan through Lincoln Financial Group for the buyer, and also represented the seller in the transaction. 

Located at 2500 Bee Caves Road, about two miles from downtown Austin, the property offers great access to major thoroughfares, including Loop 360 and Mopac. It’s adjacent to Zilker Park and the prestigious neighborhoods of Rollingwood and West Lake. 

The properties are currently fully leased to six tenants, with a roster that includes EZ Corp Inc., Kinnser Software Inc., Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC, Heritage Title Co. of Austin Inc., Independence Title and Barnes Lipscomb Stewart & Ott.

Originally built in 2015, Rollingwood Center boasts floor-to-ceiling windows, column-free floorplates, protected views of the downtown skyline and a full-service fitness center. 

A hot market

According to JLL’s Austin Office Market Report for last year’s fourth quarter, the city continues to experience robust growth, as sublet space hit a low for 2017. The research reported that citywide absorption came in slightly lower than the previous year’s 1,619,185 square feet, totaling 1,570,567 square feet in 2017, while the average rental rate has increased 9.2 percent year-over-year, to a high of $37.24. The average Class A rate saw an annual increase of 13.9 percent, reaching $44.23.

Endeavor Real Estate Group has acquired or developed more than 15 million square feet; has 8 million square feet of office, industrial and retail space under management; and more than 4 million square feet currently in its pipeline. 

In November, Endeavor Real Estate completed a $7 million lobby improvement at another of its Austin properties—600 Congress, a trophy building located at the corner of 6th and Congress Avenue, in downtown Austin. Also that month, the company secured $250 million of first mortgage and mezzanine financing for the redevelopment and repositioning of an office project in Manhattan.

Image courtesy of Endeavor Real Estate Group