Regent Properties Enters Austin Texas Market with Acquisition of CBD Office Tower

DALLAS, Jan. 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Regent Properties ("Regent"), a vertically integrated real estate investment management and development firm, today announced it has acquired 816 Congress, a 435,000 square foot Class A office tower in Downtown Austin, Texas. The acquisition is Regent's second investment via Regent Opportunity Fund V. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

816 Congress comprises 20 floors and offers panoramic views of the Austin CBD and the State Capitol. The LEED-Platinum certified tower provides numerous amenities, including a health-club style fitness center, a conference center, two parking garages, and a sky lounge with an expansive roof terrace. Its central location is within walking distance of numerous first-class hotels, restaurants, retail stores, and museums, as well as the State Capitol building.

"We are pleased to begin the year by adding 816 Congress to our growing portfolio of top-tier office assets," said Eric Fleiss, CEO of Regent Properties. "Austin is a high-conviction market for us, driven by positive local economic trends, strong demographics, and a business-friendly environment that continues to drive company expansions and relocations in the region."

Regent plans to implement significant upgrades to the property, including a major repositioning of the ground floor that encompasses lobby and courtyard renovations, as well as the activation of more than 12,000 square feet of ground-floor retail opportunities. The investment profile of 816 Congress is similar to Regent's recent acquisition of a portfolio of four high-rise office buildings in Downtown San Diego for $420 million, in June 2021. Regent has been an active and successful investor in Texas for more than 30  years, and currently owns 2.1 million square feet of assets throughout the state, including the recently completed, award-winning 84-acre Legacy Central project in the Dallas-Fort Worth MSA.

"816 Congress has been a fixture of Austin's skyline for many years. We are excited about the opportunity to leverage its existing strengths, in conjunction with a comprehensive renovation program, to deliver a highly-amenitized office experience; one which we believe is underrepresented in the market today," added Colin Rosenbaum, SVP of Texas and Southeast Acquisitions. "We are confident that Regent's holistic approach to servicing tenants, in conjunction with a significant ready-to-lease spec suite program, will create incremental value at this location for many years to come."

Over the next two years, Regent seeks to continue to acquire high-quality office assets across Texas and the Sunbelt regions, where Regent projects office demand to outperform gateway cities. In keeping with this strategy, the firm recently opened a second corporate headquarters in Dallas, Texas, to support its continued growth in Texas and expansion into the Southeast. Regent also maintains affiliated property management service locations across Houston, Phoenix, San Diego, and Denver.

The Austin office market closed the third quarter of 2021 with strong metrics. Notable tailwinds for this period include leasing volume exceeding 1.5 million square feet, per Savills, while Austin's unemployment rate fell to 3.8%, its lowest level since March 2020, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. The city has now recovered all job losses tied to the pandemic, according to the Austin Chamber of Commerce.

About Regent Properties

Founded in 1989, Regent Properties, LLC is an SEC-registered investment advisor and is a real estate investment management and development firm based in Los Angeles, California and Dallas, Texas. The company is a vertically integrated operator and fund manager with current investments concentrated in six sunbelt markets. Regent Properties manages a variety of investment vehicles, including comingled funds and separate accounts, on behalf of a sophisticated institutional investor base. Regent's assets under management as of 12/31/2021 are approximately $1.9 billion. For more information, visit www.regentproperties.com.

Contact

Mickey Mandelbaum, Prosek Partners
(310) 709-8900 
[email protected]

Aidan O'Connor, Prosek Partners
(646) 818-9283
[email protected] 

SOURCE Regent Properties, LLC