Unique Commercial Condo Concept XSpace Lands in Texas

“It’s an evolution from traditional development”

The story has reached a level of infamy at this point, but it bears repeating. The weekend after Thanksgiving, Byron Smith sat at a Houston restaurant with a margarita in his hand.

“I was in a strip mall, but looking out, I saw a church, a school next to it,
an ugly office building and then a strip club,” he laughs. “I just thought, ‘Well, that’s a bit on the nose, isn’t it?’” Smith and his business partner Tim Manson had been looking for a market to expand their Australian-based XSpace concept.

“Until now, you were either in an office building or a warehouse or self-storage,” says Smith. “We thought there had to be an innovative way to
reimagine how people can use and think about space.”

The result is XSpace, which blurs the lines between commercial and creative space. Success in Australia helped the partners see the gap in the market in America.

“It’s an evolution from traditional commercial development,” Smith says. Click to read more at www.rednews.com.

StreetLights Residential Breaks Ground on Luxury Community in NW Austin

StreetLights Residential, a national design-driven developer of multifamily and mixed-use communities, has broken ground on the fourth phase of a luxury multifamily community in Austin. Located in the rapidly growing Lakeline neighborhood in NW Austin, the new development will have 276 luxury apartment homes. StreetLights has already completed the project’s first two phases, with The Michael opening in 2016 and The Elizabeth opening in 2019, while Phase III, The Asher, broke ground in 2021, and is scheduled to open in the end of 2022.

Residents can choose from several floorplans ranging size from 517 to 1,684 square feet, with studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom floor plans available. Each apartment home will feature beautiful, thoughtfully designed interiors with granite countertops in the kitchen and bathroom, designer tile finishes, GE grade gas appliances, under-cabinet lighting, and an under-cabinet beverage fridge. Select units will also offer a smart integrated Fabita cooktop, kitchen island hoods, screened-in porches, and private fireplace patios.

The Maris’s interior common area spaces are designed to foster an inviting, comfortable environment for residents to gather, with access to a variety of amenities including a large coworking space, two private coworking offices, a custom coffee bar with a Starbucks coffee machine, a billiards room with a custom pool table a prep kitchen with adjacent private dining, dog washing stations and bike storage. The fitness center includes a separate weights area, flex fitness space designed for yoga and Pilates with an Echelon Reflect mirror and TV, and a fitness patio just off the flex space. Outside, residents have access to a large pool lounge with lounge seating and dining tables. The community’s location offers easy access for residents with a metro rail and bus station in walking distance, along with over two million square feet of retail and restaurant space.

StreetLights Creative Studio is the architect of record for the project and is overseeing all interior design. SLR Construction, LLC, is the general contractor.

Three-building Industrial Park Near Austin Sells

JLL Capital Markets has closed the sale of Buda Midway Phase I, a three-building, 474,465-square-foot, Class-AA industrial park in Buda, Texas.

JLL represented the seller, a joint venture between United Properties and PCCP, LLC, in the sale.

The recently delivered buildings were 100% pre-leased to CED Greentech, Sherri Hill and Four Hands. The buildings make up Phase I of a two-phase industrial park. Buda Midway Phase I is comprised of two rear-load and one cross-dock buildings offering 30- to 36-foot clear heights, 138 dock doors, 60 trailer parking spaces and 678 parking spaces. Phase II of Buda Midway will include four rear-load buildings totaling nearly 390,000 square feet and Building 1 is set for completion in spring 2023.

Situated on 35.29 acres at 1795 Fire Cracker Dr., Buda Midway Phase I is located at the crossroads of State Highway 45 and Interstate 35, one of the region’s most vital north/south thoroughfares that connects Mexico to Austin-San Antonio and Dallas-Fort Worth and beyond to the North Central region of the U.S. As a result, the property has quick access to SH-71 and US Highway 130. The Central Texas location offers tenants the ability to travel to each of the four major Texas markets within three hours or less in addition to nearly five million residents within an hour’s drive of Buda Midway. In addition, the property is located 17 miles from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and 61 miles from San Antonio International Airport.

The JLL Capital Markets Industrial team representing the seller was led by Senior Managing Directors Trent Agnew and Dustin Volz, Directors Dom Espinosa, Associate Josh Villarreal and Analyst Megan Babovec.

The NRP Group Hires Executive Vice President of Development to Lead Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston

The NRP Group announced the hire of Executive Vice President of Development Christopher O’Neill in Texas, reporting to Principal and President of Development Kenneth W. Outcalt.

The NRP Group continues to expand its footprint in Texas, with a current pipeline of approximately 4,045 market-rate and workforce housing residences underway. In his new role, O’Neill will oversee the expansion of the Texas development pipeline in addition to other western markets like Arizona, Nevada and Colorado, while supervising all aspects of project management for market-rate communities. O’Neill will leverage his more than 20 years of construction and multifamily development experience and leadership to pursue public-private partnerships in high-growth Texas and expansion markets.

O’Neill joins NRP from Hines, a global real estate investment and management services firm. During his tenure at Hines, he served as the first project manager for the Southwest region’s multifamily platform and managed the region’s first multifamily development, Waterwall Place. O’Neill also managed deals in the Southwest region for approximately 10 years and went on to scale the business group and spearhead Hines’ suburban multifamily efforts throughout Texas, Colorado and Arizona. O’Neill managed the development of nearly 8,000 units exceeding $2 billion in value.

A graduate from Texas A&M University, O’Neill received his degree in construction science and received his MBA from the University of Houston.

Public Input Wanted for Proposed Corpus Christi Tesla Plant

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Nueces County is trying to add incentive for Tesla to pick a site near Robstown for a lithium plant.

The county is looking for public input in a reinvestment zone to better attract the car maker.

“We are supporting Robstown,” said Nueces County Judge Barbara Canales.

She added that county commissioners court is holding a reinvestment zone public hearing on Monday afternoon to give the public a chance to find out more about the proposed Tesla plant.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Nueces County is trying to add incentive for Tesla to pick a site near Robstown for a lithium plant.

The county is looking for public input in a reinvestment zone to better attract the car maker.

“We are supporting Robstown,” said Nueces County Judge Barbara Canales.

She added that county commissioners court is holding a reinvestment zone public hearing on Monday afternoon to give the public a chance to find out more about the proposed Tesla plant.

The $365 million facility would employ 165 people in what are described as high paying jobs, plus another 250 two-year construction jobs.

“This public hearing is the first step,” Canales said. “And I think our job, commissioner’s court, is to make certain that RISD has the tools that it needs to finish what they began when they approved their 313.” Click to read more at www.kiiitv.com.

QDOBA Mexican Eats® Debuts its Vibrant, Flavorful Food to Austin, Texas Through New Ghost Kitchen Partnership

Partnership with REEF Technology expands QDOBA’s flavor-filled menu in Texas, now available through select delivery services

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — QDOBA®, a leading fast-casual Mexican restaurant, is bringing its vibrant and flavorful food to Austin, Texas through the first of two ghost kitchens in the area. In partnership with national ghost kitchen operator, REEF Technology, QDOBA’s Austin debut allows an increased number of QDOBA food lovers across the city to conveniently indulge in its tasty menu offerings. Ghost kitchens, also known as delivery-only restaurants, are commercial kitchens optimized for food delivery service apps such as Uber Eats and Postmates.

“Austin is well-known for its lively and flavorful food scene, making it the natural choice for our REEF ghost kitchen launch. It opens the doors to consumers to enjoy our unique spin on Mexican food who haven’t had access to QDOBA previously,” said Karin Silk, CMO of QDOBA. “Our partnership with REEF means bringing QDOBA’s signature flavors, including our well-loved three-cheese queso, salsas and cremas, and handmade guacamole, to Austinites. While this is our first venture into the virtual restaurant space, we can’t wait to share the flavor with additional markets!” Click to read more at www.prnewswire.com.