Hines, Galesi Plan 1.7M SF Austin Industrial Park

Austin's industrial market has notched 33 consecutive quarters of positive absorption.

Hines and The Galesi Group are partnering to develop a 1.7M SF industrial park in Austin, the companies announced this week.

The 150-acre development site for the industrial park is located between Harris Branch Parkway and Texas State Highway 130, at the intersection of Parmer Lane and Howard Lane. about 10 miles from downtown Austin and within proximity to Samsung Austin Semiconductor chip fab.

The site is a Planned Unit Development with light industrial base zoning with approved uses including light manufacturing, warehousing and distribution and e-commerce.

The Class A industrial developments first phase will include three buildings encompassing 315K SF that will be configured with floorplans that will facilitate tenants seeking between 30K SF and 150K SF.

“The partnership allows us to expand our industrial footprint in Austin in a meaningful way and most importantly, offers tenants a large scale, master planned business park in Austin,” said Laura Denkler, managing director at Hines, in a statement. “Demand for industrial space in Austin remains high, and our first phase is already in design.”

The Galesi Group expanded into Austin in 1996 by purchasing the Harris Branch Planned Unit Development site.

“With the recent fast-paced growth of the 130-corridor, partnering with Hines will allow us to better match our development timeline with the demand for high-quality industrial space in the area,” said Ryan Buicko, vice president at The Galesi Group, in a statement.

“We look forward to the positive impact this project will have on our other multifamily and retail developments in Harris Branch,” Buicko added.

The industrial market in Austin continues to expand as demand drives market fundamentals, according to a Q3 market report from CBRE which reported nearly 1.3M SF of positive absorption in the third quarter—the 33rd consecutive quarter of positive demand in Austin’s industrial market.

Positive absorption in the first three quarters of approached 3M SF, maintaining the record pace of growth in Austin’s industrial market in 2021.

There were 1.2M SF of deliveries in Q3 of which about 43% was pre-leased, with another 11.3M SF under construction, CBRE reported.

“Concessions remained minimal as occupiers head to industrial submarkets on the northern and southern ends of the city. New product underway in these areas could provide some relief to industrial occupiers in the future, by providing more choice for space,” CBRE’s report said.

In a separate announcement this week, Hines said it is expanding its joint venture with Clowes, a UK-based investment firm, to develop 1.2M SF of logistics space across the East Midlands in England.