AUSTIN-Looking toward more Texas expansion, a Dallas developer has bought two parcels, totaling 50 acres, in separate transactions from a Menomonee Falls, WI-based seller. Plans call for 730 multifamily units to be built within 18 to 24 months.
Financial details for the land purchases aren't available, but locals say dirt can range from $2 per sf to $5 per sf in both areas. One site is at the intersection of Slaughter Lane and Interstate 35 in South Austin and the other at the junction of Howard Lane and Dessau Road in North Austin.
Pretlow Riddick, president and principal for Criterion Development Partners, tells GlobeSt.com that ground will break soon on the 330-unit Criterion at Onion Creek on 26 acres at the Slaughter Lane-Interstate 35 junction. Completion is scheduled for mid-2008. The project's general contractor is WaterMark Construction LP in Addison. It was designed by MSA Architects Inc. of Cincinnati.
In early 2008, Riddick says construction will start on the 24-acre tract in North Austin. The developer is still working on the plan for the 400-unit Criterion at Harris Ridge, which will be its third development in the capital city. Criterion is in the lease-up stage for its 293-unit Windsor at Bee Cave at 12531 W. Texas 71.
Boston-based General Investment & Development Cos. provided equity for Criterion's new projects and will manage them once they deliver. Acquisition financing for the North Austin site and construction debt for Onion Creek came from Wachovia Bank's Dallas office. The development sites were acquired from Continental Properties Co. Inc., which was represented by Stephen Oden of Steelwood Property Co. in Austin.
Patton K. Jones, sales director for Apartment Realty Advisors' Austin and San Antonio offices, says both sites are in growing areas with reasonable prices for the dirt. "Three areas of Austin are growing: far northwest, far north and south," says Jones, who isn't involved with the deals. The Criterion at Onion Creek tract is near other retail and multifamily developments while the other site is close to the new Samsung Plant. "It's not too far from the CBD and it's in Tech Ridge, where a lot of jobs are driving retail and apartment development," he says.
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