Ascentris, a Denver-based real estate private equity firm, announced that it has broken ground on the development of Building C at its Paloma Ridge office campus in Austin, TX. Paloma Ridge consists of two existing, 100% leased buildings totaling 210,610 square feet. The development of Building C will add a 165,714 square feet Class-A, multi-tenant office building to the campus. Construction is estimated to be completed by year-end 2019.
Ascentris has engaged Stream Realty Partners (“Stream”) as the developer for Building C. Stream developed Buildings A & B in 2016, subsequently selling the Property to Ascentris in December 2017, and currently provides property management, construction management, and leasing services for Buildings A & B. “We are thrilled to expand both our relationship with Stream and our footprint in the Far Northwest with the development of Building C,” said Ascentris Managing Director, Jeff Stonger. “Building C’s relative value proposition to other suburban submarkets offers tenants a rare opportunity to improve their bottom line without sacrificing on the amenities needed to attract and retain talent.” added Stonger.
Building C will be the third and final building at the Paloma Ridge campus. The three-story building will sit at the end of the entryway drive, anchoring the campus. With Building C, Ascentris is delivering new amenities to the office campus such as a 2,000 square foot fitness center and yoga room, ample bike storage, an outdoor lounge and multiple gathering spaces. Ascentris is seeking certifications from WiredScore and LEED to demonstrate its commitment to developing a smart, healthy, and sustainable building.
Paloma Ridge is strategically located in Northwest Austin on TX-45 between Parmer Lane and US-183 and is less than one mile from the Capital MetroRail Lakeline Station with direct access to The Domain and Downtown. The Northwest submarket is the beneficiary of increasing rents with cyclically-low vacancy and a limited development pipeline. Further, Austin’s current population growth is concentrated in the northern suburbs; Williamson County’s population grew by more than 25% from 2010 through 2016, which compares to 20% for the Austin MSA. In December 2018, Apple announced plans to invest $3 billion in a new campus in the Northwest suburbs, just six miles from Paloma Ridge.
Ascentris acquired Buildings A & B in 2017 at 70% leased and promptly executed approximately 64,000 square feet of leasing in eight months, stabilizing the property in August 2018. Leasing activity came from several industries including cybersecurity, health insurance, homebuilding, interior design, and IT. The leasing agents for the campus are Stream’s Edvin Beasley and Scott Deskins.
“Paloma Ridge successfully fills a void in the Austin office market by offering brand new Class A space at a significant rent discount to other high-quality buildings,” said Beasley. “Tenants are also attracted to Paloma’s proximity to the high-growth residential neighborhoods in North Austin where their employees live. We are thrilled to move forward with the third building and believe that tenants will continue to gravitate to Paloma Ridge because of its compelling attributes,” added Beasley.