Intel Construction Retreat Sparks Site Buyout Bids

AUSTIN-The possibility that Intel might abandon its 10-story office tower downtownhas generated buzz among the commercial real estate community and some offers to Intel to purchase the site.

Late last week, Intel had announced plans to halt construction on its 10-story, 435,000-sf office tower downtown. Intel plans to come back and reassess at year’s end whether the company should move forward with construction. That declaration, however, hasn’t stopped other companies from offering to pick up the construction and finish the office space now, a company source tells GlobeSt.com. “That’s not what we’re interested in,” Intel spokesman Fred Shannon says. “It’s our desire to continue with this building.”

What Intel does, though, will depend upon the cyclical nature of the high-tech market, Shannon says. For now, the company is taking offers and cataloguing them for consideration at year’s end. “We’ve taken the offers put them in a file,” Shannon says. “At an appropriate time we will come back and review them towards the end of the year as we1re reviewing the construction timeline.” Shannon points out that Intel always intended to have some sublease space in the building, slowing weaning off those leases as Intel reached its expected building capacity in 2010.