AUSTIN, TX—Karlin Real Estate and master developer Trammell Crow Co. have broken ground on Parmer 3.2, a new class A office building offering 192,000 square feet of prime office space.

Parmer 3.2 is the first phase of new construction at Parmer (www.parmeraustin.com), Karlin's 400-acre master planned technology and office park in North Central Austin.

Parmer 3.2 is a three-story office building featuring a modern design with expansive 64,000 square-foot floor plates that are designed for either single or multi-tenant occupancy.   Situated on a 14-acre parcel of land, the development is surfaced parked at 5 spaces per 1,000 square feet with the ability to expand parking facilities to accommodate any tenant need.  Construction is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2015.

The start of construction of Parmer 3.2 is the culmination of three years of planning by Karlin to develop a master planned business park, in what is the heart of Austin's technology and business corridor.  In 2012, Karlin acquired 300 acres of land immediately adjacent to three 300,000 square-foot institutional quality office buildings, that the Los Angeles-based real estate firm purchased from Dell USA a year earlier.  Parmer is currently zoned for up to nine million square feet of office, industrial, hotel and retail uses.

Concurrently with the work on Parmer 3.2, Karlin is moving ahead with construction of additional infrastructure and amenities that will benefit all tenants in the park.  The highlight of these improvements will be a central amenity area including covered outdoor dining and seating areas, extensive hardscape improvements, miles of jogging/walking paths and wi-fi enabled social areas in an abundantly landscaped setting. 

“Parmer's location at Parmer Lane and IH 35 make it very conveniently located for both tenants and their employees.  The list of large tenants located along Parmer Lane is truly a “Who's Who” of major corporate users.  With over 300 acres of expansion land available, Parmer is best positioned to satisfy the current and future demands of Austin's next generation of corporate and technology users,” said Brad Maples with Trammell Crow Company.

“Austin, which boasts single digit vacancy and tremendous tenant demand, is ripe for a development of this size and scope, ” said Karlin Real Estate managing director Matthew Schwab.  “Parmer is one of the few opportunities in Austin for corporate users with large contiguous space requirements to locate in a desirable and cost effective area with the ability to expand on both the short- and long-term,” added Vicky Canto, Karlin Real Estate's VP of acquisitions who is leading the project.

“Despite the demand, there is virtually no value office space being delivered to the market,” continued Mark Emerick of CBRE who along with John Barksdale head the sales and leasing team for Parmer.  “This supply/demand imbalance of value office space will result in tenants with expiring leases facing an increase in rents of as much as 50% with very few alternatives. Parmer is designed to fill that void.”

The master planned development is bordered by McCallen Pass on the West, E. Howard Lane on the North, Harris Ridge Boulevard on the East and Parmer Lane on the South with immediate access to I-35, MoPac and US 183.

Other members of the development team include: STG Design, architect; and Austin Commercial, general contractor.

Karlin Real Estate is a Los Angeles-based real estate investment firm. Trammell Crow Company, founded in 1948, is one of the nation's leading developers and investors in commercial real estate.