Cielo, TIER Plan Office on Music Venue Site

AUSTIN, TX—A financially challenged concert venue in the southwest area of the city's downtown will give way to office space in a project that's slated to begin construction early next year. Locally based Cielo Property Group, which owns the Austin Music Hall, and Dallas-based TIER REIT will build a 349,000-square-foot tower at 208 Nueces St. that will feature multiple outdoor decks and creative office space.

“We've seen first-hand the extremely high demand for office space in downtown Austin, and even with all the new construction there isn't much space available,” says Bobby Dillard, founding principal of Cielo. “This building will offer a premier location in what is quickly becoming the heart of downtown with amazing views and plenty of amenities onsite and within easy walking distance —including the Whole Foods world headquarters, the new Trader Joe's at Seaholm and dozens of restaurants and bars.”

At TIER REIT, president and CEO Scott Fordham says Austin is “one of our key target growth markets, and this rare development opportunity will expand our existing Austin portfolio that includes the Terrace Office Park, a four-building complex with 620,000 square feet, located adjacent to the Barton Creek greenbelt.”

With a design by the Gensler architecture firm, the 28-story project boasts “an unbeatable location in the center of an unprecedented wave of downtown redevelopment within easy walking distance of some of the city's most popular and well-known destinations,” says CBRE SVP Troy Holme. “So many businesses are looking for downtown office space—particularly creative office space—and this building will be extremely attractive to those owners and their employees.”

Cielo purchased the 43,000-square-foot Music Hall from Bank of the Ozarks in 2014. Lenders repossessed the eight-year-old facility in 2012 after its then-operators fell behind on a construction loan.

Events booked at the Austin Music Hall through year's end will go on as scheduled, the Austin American-Statesman reported. Cielo retains ownership of the venue's brand, and is actively searching for a smaller, better quality concert facility to open under the same name.