(To read more on the industrial market, click here.)

AUSTIN-Construction has begun on the 56,700-sf Exchange Business Center in the 700-acre Walnut Creek Business Park. The spec flex project, which has an all-in tag of $4.6 million, also is launching a drive by Kennedy Wilson to acquire or develop $100 million of commercial properties this year.

The newest project, going up at 8013 Exchange Dr., is the last space for the business park, which Kennedy Wilson began 12 years ago. "There are no more large tracts to do industrial so we're moving out farther from the city," says Kennedy Wilson's Steve Pyhrr, who is managing partner of the Exchange Business Center project.

Pyhrr tells GlobeSt.com that while Exchange Business Center might be considered small by many industrial standards, enough demand exists for office and flex space to justify the construction. He says tenant inquiries about the park's space are seeking high finish-outs and even straight office space.

The building's construction also represents a switch for Kennedy Wilson, which has been mostly in a selling and disposition mode for five years. "We built a large portfolio in the late 1990s and sold a lot of that off and made decent money through the asset sales" Pyhrr says.

But a robust economy and spiking rents means Kennedy Wilson is returning to acquisition and development. Pyhrr says the company is examining new medical office developments in Austin as well as industrial in other markets. The only common denominator necessary is the opportunity for upside.

"We're a value-add company," Pyhrr says. "We need to find something that's broken, then fix it. It can be a broken partnership, broken financing or a broken property."

Instant Insights /

Kennedy Wilson Plans to Deploy $100M in '07

Related Stories

Recommended For You