Austin’s Resilience Shines Through in CRE Pause
Rastegar Property Company recently acquired two properties near the intersection of East 7th Street and Interstate 35 in Austin: 902 E. 7th St. and a nearby property at 818 E. 7th St.
AUSTIN, TX—Rastegar Property Company recently acquired two properties near the intersection of East 7th Street and Interstate 35. 902 E. 7th St. is currently occupied by an 860-square-foot building, which will be leased as a flexible rental through second quarter 2020 before being converted to meet the area’s growing demand for creative office space.
The nearby property at 818 E. 7th St. is currently leased by Premium Parking. It provides parking spaces for bars, restaurants and retail in downtown and central east Austin. Rastegar plans to acquire and parcel neighboring properties to open the door to retail and multifamily spaces because the lot proximity provides flexibility for future development.
East Austin is home to historic buildings and museums, offices, bars, restaurants, shops and services as well as Huston-Tillotson University and the Boggy Creek Greenbelt.
“Austin has cemented its status as one of America’s top cities for quality of life, economic growth and job opportunity, as evidenced by the incredible pace at which people are moving here,” said Ari Rastegar, CEO of Rastegar Property Company. “Many of the people migrating to Austin are top-tier technology professionals, so now more than ever, the city requires top-tier commercial space. These new properties straddle downtown’s endless employment opportunities. It’s a great place to create value for our investors by reimagining properties with huge upside.”
Austin gained more than 26,000 jobs between 2018 and 2019 and is one of America’s fastest-growing economies. People moved to Austin at a higher rate than any other major US city during the past decade, with nearly 550,000 residents added in the 2010s and more than 600,000 more projected to arrive in the 2020s.
“It is amazing how resilient Austin is and how favorable Fannie and Freddie are to Austin. I am optimistic about the multifamily loans they are originating,” Rastegar tells GlobeSt.com. “Apple will be completing its facility by 2025, Google’s building has a target date of 2023, Whole Foods is headquartered here and Oracle has a large office here. The Austin jobs are there and workers need a place to live. We are attracted to the vintage properties near class-A renovations that can be converted into multifamily value-add assets with 15 to 137 units.”
Rastegar is a private real estate investment firm focused on value-add and development in all asset classes throughout Austin and the southwest United States.