Austin’s Booming Office Pipeline Inflates

As of February, Austin had more than 10 million square feet of office space in the works, representing an 11.6 percent of total stock—up 130 basis points since January, according to CommercialEdge data. The Texas capital’s office development boom is not showing any signs of slowing down, as it remains on top of all other U.S. markets in terms of relative stock.

Across the nation, 146.6 million square feet of office space was under construction in February, representing 2.2 percent of total stock. Austin’s planned plus under construction volume hit 26.3 percent that month, outperforming all other markets. Austin was followed by Nashville (15.7 percent), Miami (14.0 percent) and the Bay Area (13.7 percent). Other high-ranking Sun Belt markets include Charlotte (9.6 percent), Phoenix (8.8 percent) and Atlanta (8.4 percent).

At the start of March, local company Inspire Development broke ground on a $2 billion mixed-use development in Northwest Austin. Dubbed Pearson Ranch, the 156-acre project includes 2.6 million square feet of Class A office space, two hotels, 200,000 square feet of retail and 2,500 residential units. The first 41-acre phase will create 600,000 square feet of office space, along with three multifamily communities.

At nearly 1.2 million square feet, Sixth and Guadalupe is a 66-story mixed-use project taking shape in downtown Austin and set to become the metro’s tallest building. Developed by a joint venture of Lincoln Property Co., DivcoWest and Kairoi Residential, the development will comprise 590,000 square feet of office space, street-level retail, 34 residential floors and 10 parking levels. In January, Meta inked a lease for the entire office portion of the tower, slated to come online in 2023.

CommercialEdge covers 8M+ property records in the United States. View the latest CommercialEdge national monthly office report here.