AUSTIN, TEXAS — Marketplace Real Estate Group and joint venture partner Presidium Group have unveiled the full plans for Velocity, a 314-acre, 7 million-square-foot, mixed-use project in southeast Austin. The co-developers expect to break ground in early 2021.
Velocity will be built in phases over 10 to 15 years. Ultimately it will feature an H-E-B grocery store; a total of 2,683 multifamily units; 2.9 million square feet of office space comprising two corporate campuses, along with traditional office properties; 585,000 square feet of flex industrial and creative office space; 310,000 square feet of retail, restaurants and a movie theater; and three hotels. The various assets will surround a seven-acre central park.
Financing is in place to move forward with the project’s roads and the first apartment complex, Presidium Velocity, which will take approximately 18 months to build.
Formerly branded Velocity Crossing, the property will be situated at the southwest corner of State Highways 71 and 130 within an opportunity zone. The site is also within the city of Austin’s Desired Development Zone and a Triple Freeport Zone, meaning businesses operating within the site can be exempt from paying taxes on inventory that leaves the state of Texas within 175 days.
International architecture and planning firm Sasaki redesigned the land plan, growing the concept 1.5 million square feet larger than its prior design. Austin-based Marketplace initially purchased the land back in 2014 and recently added Texas-based Presidium as joint venture partner.
“We’ve done our best to update the land plan in a way that respects community wishes and market demand. Velocity’s inclusion in an opportunity zone has also attracted significant interest from both investment capital and companies seeking to locate within the development,” says Doug Launius, principal with Marketplace. “Our new partner enables us to be even more nimble as Velocity progresses.”
The joint venture plans to make a large investment in parks, open space, trees, landscaping and creek preservation efforts. The updated development plan incorporates approximately eight miles of pedestrian trails and a 42-acre public park along Onion Creek.
Marketplace is a full-service commercial real estate firm that focuses largely on Southeast Austin, Del Valle and the surrounding areas. Presidium is a real estate developer, owner and operator with $2 billion of assets under management.
— Kristin Hiller and John Nelson