New Austin Mixed-Use Project Unveiled

Trammell Crow Company (TCC) and Principal Real Estate Investors have officially unveiled plans for a new, vibrant mixed-use project comprised of a 709,000-square-foot, Class AA office skyscraper with 10,600 square feet of ground level retail/restaurant space at 200 West 6th Street. The project also includes the adaptive reuse of a historic 1914 building into a 25,000-square-foot retail/restaurant destination and a 20,000-square-foot urban greenspace. The 1.75-acre site was formerly utilized by the University of Texas System for its system headquarters, and sits at the intersection of 6th Street and Colorado Avenue, in the heart of Austin’s lively central business district. Construction is scheduled to begin immediately and completion is expected in 2021.

“This mixed-use project is exceptionally located in the epicenter of Austin’s thriving and dynamic CBD,” said Adam Nims, Managing Director with TCC’s Austin Business Unit. “With the West 6th Street district an extremely desired area for young professionals, and Congress Avenue as the historic central corridor of downtown’s business district, we anticipate this project to attract a variety of tenants seeking a premier business location. Our goal is to bridge East 6th and West 6th with pedestrian oriented retail and highly sought-after urban amenities that raise the bar for the Austin market.”

Indeed, the world’s #1 job site with over 200 million unique visitors per month, has signed a long-term lease for floors 27-36 of the building, or approximately 307,000 square feet.

Rising 554 feet and 36 stories, the building will stand as the tallest and largest office tower in downtown Austin’s skyline and will offer tenants an unparalleled experience through its extensive office amenities, including a fitness center, dedicated conference center and eight outdoor terraces. The building’s floor plates, at an average size of 33,000 square feet, will be among the largest in the market, making the building attractive to the growing technology oriented sector while maintaining flexibility to appeal to a wide variety of downtown office users. Additionally, the tower will have approximately 1,500 parking spaces in a mix of both below grade and above grade structured garages. The development team will seek LEED® Gold certification and Austin Energy Green Building (AEGB) Two-Star Commercial Rating.

Architecturally, the building’s slender sculptural form—two sloped volumes rising together—tapers at the northwest and southeast corners, thereby maximizing daylight into the space and offering exceptional views. Fins project from the west façade providing solar-shading elements that will improve the thermal and environmental performance of the building while articulating the building form. The project’s unique ground floor design allows the lobby to embrace the existing historic structure, incorporating its century-old façade directly into the western wall of the office lobby.

The development team plans to further amenitize the project by renovating the former Claudia Taylor Johnson Hall. Named after the former First Lady, the building was most recently utilized by the University of Texas System as office space, and is a Texas Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was originally constructed from 1912 to 1914 and was the seventh US post office built in Austin. Non-historic interior elements will be renovated with the intention of delivering the space for a 25,000-square-foot retail and food hall. Additionally, a new 20,000-square-foot plaza in the northwest portion of the site will be created to connect the commercial environment of the office building with cultural, recreational and retail activities in the context of the open space.

Adam Nims, Aaron Thielhorn, Brad Maples, and Mark Fowler will lead the project on behalf of Trammell Crow Company. Page Southerland Page is the project architect and DPR is serving as the general contractor. CBRE Austin is handing the leasing and marketing of the project. Debt financing for the project is provided by a syndication of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.

About Principal Real Estate Investors

Principal Real Estate Investors manages or sub-advises $77.0 billion in commercial real estate assets*. The firm’s real estate capabilities include both public and private equity and debt investment alternatives. Principal Real Estate Investors is a dedicated real estate group of Principal Global Investors, a diversified asset management organization and a member of the Principal Financial Group®.

*as of 31 March 2018