St. John Properties to Develop 225 KSF Austin-Area Campus

Rendering of the Westinghouse Crossing project in Georgetown, Texas. Rendering courtesy of St. John Properties

St. John Properties has entered the Austin market, acquiring a 35-acre property for the speculative development of a 225,000-square-foot mixed-use business campus. The site, located in Georgetown, Texas, will include flex research and development, office and retail components.

Aquila Commercial Senior Vice President Joe Simmons and Principal Leigh Ellis brokered the deal on behalf of the seller, Bourn Cos. The developer plans to break ground on the project this fall, with the delivery of the first building slated for the summer of 2024.

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St. John Properties plans to construct over 170,000 square feet of flex R&D space, as well as more than 40,000 square feet of single-story office space and nearly 15,000 square feet of retail space, on a speculative basis. Additionally, 1.4 acres at the property will be available for lease or purchase and can be used for a stand-alone restaurant or a health-care facility.

Westinghouse Crossing is set to encompass four flex buildings, two office buildings and a retail strip at full build-out, according to the developer’s website.

The project, Westinghouse Crossing, is located 15 miles north of Austin, Texas, near the southern border of Georgetown and the northern border of Round Rock, Texas. Adjacent to Interstate 35, Highway 130 and Farm to Market Road 1431, the development site is near the intersection of Westinghouse Road and North Mays Street.

The project is situated in close proximity to Round Rock Premium Outlets, Baylor Scott & White Hospital and the Great Hall & Conference Center. The immediate area accommodates a workforce of more than 700,000, as well as nearly 2,600 apartment homes either under construction or recently completed.

Over the past four years, St. John Properties has speculatively broken ground on almost 1 million square feet of space across the U.S. and intends to continue pursing this strategy. Including its Austin projects, the company plans to double its portfolio to 40 million square feet.

Metro Austin, a favorite among developers

With a population of more than 1 million residents, Austin is the 10th-largest city in the U.S., according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The city has a higher percentage of its population in the “peak working years” age group at 43 percent, compared to the national average of 36 percent.

Housing in the area increased by 26 percent since 2010, and Austin’s gross domestic product grew by 4.3 percent through the third quarter of 2022.

Metro Austin is recording a rapid increase in the number of new office projects, with more than 6.6 million square feet under construction, constituting 7.5 percent of total inventory, the latest CommercialEdge report reveals. The metro’s inventory marks the highest proportion of upcoming office space in the country.

Earlier this year, Jackson-Shaw also announced plans for an Austin business park, ATX 130, encompassing approximately 602,400 square feet of office, warehouse and distribution space. The developer broke ground on the project last month.