Daily Briefing: Rise to the Top: ✨ UT's New Tower and Hyatt's Luxury Leap! 🏢

September 20th, 2023 News Brief TLDR:

1. Austin's zoning reforms tackle affordability while birthing a 58-acre tech park. 🏙️

2. Villas Student Housing adds an 8th tower near UT, completion by 2025. 🏢

3. Council greenlights commercial zoning for a foundation company, defying Planning Commission. 🛠️

4. Hyatt targets high-end travel, 30 new luxury venues in the Americas. 🌟

REAL ESTATE & HOUSING INVESTMENTS

Mosaic, NexMetro to Develop 224-Unit Build-to-Rent Residential Community in Georgetown, Texas

Source: REBusinessOnline.com

Summary: Phoenix-based developers, Mosaic and NexMetro Communities are set for a partnership to develop Avilla Berry Creek, a 224-unit build-to-rent residential community centered in the northern Austin suburb of Georgetown with a $66 million total projected development cost. This community will include a range of one, two-, and three-bedroom detached homes with duplexes at sizes ranging from 690 to 1,265 square feet, and will have custom features like private front patios and backyards. In addition, residents will have access to communal amenities such as a clubhouse, pool, community garden, and a dog park with a completion goal set for summer 2025.

Why this matters: Monitoring developments like the Avilla Berry Creek project by Mosaic and NexMetro offers commercial real estate professionals concrete insights on the city's housing trends, thus providing data to guide client investment decisions in the dynamic Georgetown residential property landscape.

Villas Student Housing Breaks Ground on Austin Tower

Source: MultiHousingNews.com

Summary: Villas Student Housing is investing in a 30-story student housing complex near the University of Texas in Austin's West Campus, marking their eighth property in the area. The building, boasting of various amenities and services, is expected to be complete by summer 2025. Construction work in the University is at its peak with the highest number of bedrooms being built nationwide.

Why this matters: This significant development in Austin could signify growing trends in demand for student housing and present opportunities for realtors and investors seeking properties aimed at the university student market.

Realized® Partners with Founders Financial to Leverage Commercial Real Estate Investment to Transform Retirement

Source: BusinessWire.com

Summary: Realized®, a top investment property wealth manager, recently initiated a strategic partnership with Founders Financial, a privately-owned Registered Investment Adviser and independent broker-dealer service focused on supporting independent financial advisors. This partnership aims to offer Founders’ Partner Members a chance to utilize the Realized wealthtech platform, expanding the ease of access to diversified, passive portfolios of expertly managed commercial real estate -- leveraging the portfolio for tax-deferred benefits.

Why this matters: Through understanding this partnership between Realized and Founders Financial, Central Texas commercial real estate professionals can integrate professional real estate management systems to offer diversified and tax-beneficient portfolios, making their services more attractive to potential clients interested in diversifying their investment portfolio.

ZONING & URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Council approves commercial zoning for foundation company site

Source: AustinMonitor.com

Summary: The Austin City Council recently gave initial approval to rezone four lots in North Austin that host a foundation repair business. This move brings the business's site into compliance with city regulations. The proposed Commercial Services-Mixed Use zoning explicitly rejects the Planning Commission recommendation that the company must seek a conditional use permit for the business, which is already operational. The unanimous vote went against the Planning Commission and council staff's Neighborhood Commercial-Mixed Use Neighborhood Combining District zoning recommendation. If the new zoning is approved on second and third readings, it will restrict some automotive based services, as well as limited warehousing and custom manufacturing on the property.

Why this matters: This rezoning could impact local real estate professionals as it exhibits the city council's leniency toward existing businesses and gives a sense of trending zoning decisions, thereby shaping client investment or property use consultancy.

Austin will try again to tame its housing affordability crisis with zoning reforms

Source: TexasTribune.org

Summary: Can it do it this time? Development of a large-scale technology park in Central Texas is creating momentum in the real estate market, bringing potentially robust opportunities to both commercial and residential areas. The 58-acre project, steered by Tyson Tuttle, Steve Stoler, and Brad Bentz, aims to evolve into an innovation hub hosting an amalgamation of established tech companies, ambitious startups, and versatile maker-space facilities. The multipurpose tech campus would offer not just office buildings, but residential, retail, and restaurant spaces - addressing multiple aspects of lifestyle needs.

Why this matters: The ongoing development in Central Texas provides an opportunity for real estate professionals to position themselves in a gentrifying market where diversification from conventional office space continues to be a major trend. They can use this chance to extend their clientele base to startups seeking a home base, or larger corporations looking for innovation-driven habitats in the growing Texas tech-sector.

“Attainable” Tiny Homes, RVs Will Be More Widely Allowed in Austin

Source: AustinChronicle.com

Summary: Austin City Council Member Leslie Pool is pushing to expand the supply of "attainable" housing in Austin with a new resolution that allows tiny homes and recreational vehicles to be utilized as homes in a broader range of city areas. Previously, these unique housing options were only permissible in specific locations like mobile home parks or otherwise commercially zoned regions. The resolution allows homeowners to connect utilities to their designated tiny homes or RVs and isn't just a storage alternative. This initiative aligns with Pool's ongoing efforts to broaden housing options for Austin's middle class.

Why this matters: Increasing the versatility of property use within the city potentially influences local real estate by diversifying the types of properties that can offer competitive commercial investment opportunities. Real estate professionals, particularly those focusing on urban communities or smaller-format housing, can better cater to the shifting urban housing demands driven by a desire for increased affordability and alternative living arrangements.

LIFESTYLE & DEMOGRAPHICS

Austin Tops Livabl's Baby Chaser Index for Second Year in a Row

Source: PRWeb.com

Summary: Austin has secured the top position in Livabl's Baby Chaser Index for the second consecutive year as an indicator of its popularity among both millennial and baby boomer demographics. Dubbed 'Baby Chasers,' about 25% of baby boomers nationwide have expressed they want to settle closer to their grandchildren. Austin continues to allure the younger pool due to its growing and pervasive tech sector, despite the existing uncertainties. Migration growth in Austin is reportedly 27% above 2019 levels. Additionally, cities like Raleigh, Orlando, and Charlotte did well on the index, extending the possibilities beyond Austin.

Why this matters: Reading the migration tea leaves, commercial real estate professionals in Central Texas, and particularly Austin, can anticipate a steady demand, not only from the influx of younger tech industry workers but from retiree baby boomers as well eager to live closer to family; planning for multi-generational housing options and diversity of commercial amenities might be the key to staying ahead.

Hyatt expands Americas luxury and lifestyle footprint

Source: HotelBusiness.com

Summary: Hyatt Hotels Corporation is expanding its luxury and lifestyle niche across the Americas with over 30 planned facilities by 2025, aiming to fulfill the current high-end leisure travel demands with hotels and resorts in untapped markets. Important focal points of the plan include the opening of new luxury brands in key leisure destinations, the welcoming of novel Boundless Collection and Timeless Collection hotels, and the introduction of new Inclusive Collection resorts across the Caribbean and Mexico. Noteworthy launched projects include Hyatt Centric Congress Avenue in Austin.

Why this matters: With Hyatt Centric Congress Avenue Austin already operational, and under the larger schema of Hyatt's plans, Austin-based commercial real estate professionals can expect appreciable property value uplifts around Hyatt facilities and potential interest from other businesses in securing locations adjacent to these thriving hubs of luxury and lifestyle enhancement.