HomeAway Doubling Down in Austin

By Anca Gagiuc

Domain 11 HomeAway, Austin, Texas

HomeAway signed a lease to fill a new 16-story office tower in the Domain mixed-use district. Upon completion, anticipated for the first quarter of 2019, the 315,000-square-foot landmark location will accommodate more than 2,000 additional employees.

The new Domain 11 office building, will be located at the intersection of Domain Drive and Alterra Parkway and will house HomeAway’s product and design, engineering and information technology teams. The location provides walkable access to Whole Foods Market, various restaurants, parks and retails stores.

Robust employment

“As a global company headquartered in Austin and as the largest and fastest growing consumer tech company based in our hometown, we are well poised to attract the very best talent,” John Kim, HomeAway president, said in prepared remarks. “We’re already hiring at a rapid rate across all disciplines worldwide, and our new offices will help us continue to grow, especially as we look for talented designers, engineers and data scientists.”

The company has increased its Austin tech employees by 50 percent in the past two years. The Domain high-rise will boast an open layout and feature bike storage, outdoor balcony space, an outdoor lawn for meetings and workouts, showers and lockers. Moreover, HomeAway leadership will gather feedback and ideas from employees to incorporate in the final design of the office asset.

“Austin employees are critical to our global growth and success,” added Kim. “Our transition from a sales-driven advertising platform to a tech-driven e-commerce business is already paying off, as our owners and property managers generated $2.7 billion in gross bookings during the first quarter of 2017, nearly 50 percent more vacation rental gross bookings compared to the same time last year.”

The development team

TIER REIT is the owner, lead developer and property manager of the building, while Endeavor Real Estate Group serves as co-developer. Gensler worked on the design for the asset, and interior architecture and design was led by Rios Clementi Hale Studios. DPR was named the general contractor for the core/shell building.

Image courtesy of TIER REIT