Carr Properties JV to Break Ground on Austin Tower

Block 16. Rendering courtesy of Gensler

After entering the Austin, Texas, market last year with a 420,000-square-foot office purchase, Carr Properties has teamed up with Manifold Development to build its first project in the city. The developers announced plans for Block 16, a 738,000-square-foot office tower in the CBD.

The partnership has selected CBRE to market the property. The Gensler-designed tower will take shape at 201 San Jacinto Blvd., on half a city block. The 43-story high-rise is expected to come online in the spring of 2026.

Block 16 will feature a fitness center along with several meeting spaces, among other amenities. The office tower aims to provide a nearly column-free workspace with 10-foot ceiling heights and floor-to-ceiling windows. Sustainability, wellness and indoor air quality are top priorities in the project’s design.

Office projects across downtown Austin

Block 16. Rendering courtesy of Gensler

Austin remains among the nation’s leading cities for office construction activity relative to existing stock. As of February, the metro had more than 10.1 million square feet of office space underway, representing 11.6 percent of total inventory. The figure is more than five times higher than the national average of 2.2 percent, according to CommercialEdge data.

As of mid-March, Austin’s CBD had 30 office developments, either underway or in the planning stages, totaling 13.5 million square feet, the same data provider reported. A few blocks away from Block 16, Cielo Property Group expects to break ground on Perennial, a 46-story tower totaling 750,000 square feet. The Perkins & Will-designed high-rise is anticipated to come online in 2025. Work is also underway on 321 West, a 58-story mixed-use project by Tishman Speyer and Ryan Cos.

According to the Austin American-Statesman, downtown Austin will soon host the city’s and potentially the state’s tallest tower. A joint venture between Lincoln Property Co. and Kairoi Residential are planning to break ground on the more than 1,000-foot high-rise at 98 Red River St. The 74-story tower will include 686,000 square feet of office space, 352 residential units, as well as a 251-key hospitality component.