HFF Announces The Luzzatto Company’s Acquisition of Austin Oaks in Austin, Texas

HFF announces The Luzzatto Company’s acquisition of Austin Oaks, a 12-building office park totaling 445,322 square feet in Central Austin.

The HFF team marketed the offering on behalf of the seller, Spire Realty Group LP. An affiliate of The Luzzatto Company, Inc. (TLC), a Los Angeles-based investment firm, purchased the asset and was assisted by HFF in securing the 10-year acquisition loan through a life company lender.

Situated on 31.4 acres along MoPac (Loop 1), Austin Oaks is Austin’s largest infill office park and is currently home to 140 tenants representing a diverse mix of industries, including financial services, healthcare, legal and technology. TLC has acquired the property as a long-term investment with plans to reposition it into a more creative, tech-friendly campus akin to modern creative office campuses in the Los Angeles area that have attracted the entertainment, media and tech industries throughout the past several years.

Originally constructed throughout the 1970’s and 80’s, the redevelopment will be designed by Austin-based Michael Hsu Office of Architecture and will place an emphasis on green initiatives and aesthetic elements such as art and landscaping. TLC also plans to add café and fitness amenities to the campus. While the property is currently entitled to add more than 800,000 square feet of office, multi-housing and retail space, TLC intends to focus on the value that exists in the current improvements and on its efforts repositioning the existing buildings into what it believes will be a world-class creative office campus. Most redevelopment will be deferred to much longer-term plans for the property. TLC hopes that its approach to Austin Oaks will be well received by the City Council, adjacent property owners and current tenants. TLC’s immediate plans also include working in conjunction with the Austin office of Peloton Commercial Real Estate to lease and co-manage the property. Together, they look forward to offering tenants medium- and long-term leasing opportunities.

“I am excited to return to Austin, where I spent my law school years, and give something back to the community in the form of a wonderful and creative home for the dynamic business community that has evolved since my time at the University of Texas,” Luzzatto said. “I see a lot of similarities between the vibe in Austin and in Santa Monica/Silicon Beach, and we want to provide the same kind of creative environment at Austin Oaks that we have created in some of our properties in Silicon Beach.”

“We are thrilled to work on what may be the single most significant repositioning opportunity in Austin, if not all of Texas,” Hsu said. “The existing buildings create a perfect backdrop to transform this development into a modern reflection of Austin, which will blend with the city’s physical and business landscape.”

Holliday GP Corp. ("HFF") is a Texas licensed real estate broker.

About Spire Realty Group LP

Spire Realty Group is a privately held real estate investment and management company based in Dallas. The company, which has extensive redevelopment experience, currently owns and manages a diverse portfolio, including commercial office buildings, retail centers, multifamily projects, parking facilities and land development sites.

About The Luzzatto Company, Inc.

The Luzzatto Company, Inc. and its affiliates ("TLC") invest in real estate and real estate related debt, with a national portfolio that includes retail, office, multi-family, industrial and film and television studio properties. TLC has a long history of success in creative conversions and development with a focus on distressed, underdeveloped, poorly designed, inefficient, vacant or otherwise impaired properties. TLC has developed and managed space for tenants like Red Bull, Yahoo!, NPR, The Honest Company, FedEx, Quixote Studios, CAA and other industry leaders. Today, TLC remains one of the premier creative office operators in the nation.

TLC ensures that all of its investments perform well despite market fluctuations through its property management, asset management and brokerage services as well as its in-house legal expertise.

In addition to its own portfolio of assets, TLC manages the real estate assets of Welk Real Estate, Inc. (the real estate subsidiary of The Welk Group, Inc., the Lawrence Welk family holding company), and a number of Luzzatto family-affiliated real estate ventures.

About Michael Hsu Office of Architecture

Michael Hsu Office of Architecture was formed in 2005 with the goal of producing locally engaged, design driven architecture and interiors in Austin. MHOA endeavors to create livable, neighborhood-oriented urban spaces. The firm’s work includes diverse projects ranging from mixed-use developments to original commercial interiors and residences. MHOA advocates a simple, edited design palette, using available materials and techniques to create unexpected results. MHOA believes in the innate beauty of unadorned natural materials, carefully chosen, composed and crafted.

About HFF

HFF and its affiliates operate out of 26 offices and are a leading provider of commercial real estate and capital markets services to the global commercial real estate industry. HFF, together with its affiliates, offers clients a fully integrated capital markets platform, including debt placement, investment advisory, equity placement, funds marketing, M&A and corporate advisory, loan sales and loan servicing. HFF, HFF Real Estate Limited, HFF Securities L.P. and HFF Securities Limited are owned by HFF, Inc. (NYSE: HF). For more information, please visit hfflp.com or follow HFF on Twitter @HFF.

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HFF
ANDREW LEVY, (214) 265-0880
TX Lic. #0413696
HFF Senior Managing Director
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PAUL BRINDLEY, (310) 407-2100
HFF Senior Managing Director
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KRISTEN MURPHY, (617) 338-0990
HFF Director, Public Relations
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