Stream Realty has built a reputation as the go-to commercial real estate firm for Austin’s Southwest submarket. Our team of Austin professionals are known for their work in increasing occupancy and improving rates for top-notch office properties in the submarket. Read further to learn about our recent work in this active submarket.

Hill Country Galleria
Stream was hired to lease the 147,551-square-foot office component of this bold mixed use project. As the Hill Country Galleria changed hands during a foreclosure, Stream rebranded and repositioned the project, highlighting its first-class owner, HRPT. The project was taken from less than 1-percent occupied to a stabilized 98 percent occupancy rate, with 105,000 square feet of new leases completed in the first nine months. Stream successfully rebranded the project and brought it back to the market with a strong force.

Parkway at Oak Hill
This 139,957-square-foot office property went through three separate owners in less than two years during a declining leasing environment. To increase occupancy at the project, Stream created a team that worked hand-in-hand to execute business - property management, construction management, marketing and leasing. The team brought the property from 8-percent filled to 96-percent filled, completing 95,000 square feet of new deals, including three large deals with Wells Fargo Bank, Espey Consulting, and SAM Inc.  

7000 West
Equity Office Properties hired Stream to lease six office buildings consisting of approximately 430,000 square feet. Facing a recessive economy, the project was 41-percent occupied with two buildings completely vacant. Through a proactive, creative strategy, Stream’s leasing team took the portfolio to 95-percent occupied in less than 14 months, with seven leases signed at the property at or above market rates. The result was a stabilized portfolio with a signficantly increased value.

For more information, contact Matt Frizzell at mfrizzell@streamrealty.com and Kevin Granger at kgranger@streamrealty.com.

Benjamin Hautt, Stream Realty's leading partner in Atlanta, contributes regularly to the Atlanta Business Chronicle Real Deal blog. This month, Benjamin took a hard look at two great American cities to weigh the pros and cons of each.

Because I travel to Dallas frequently and have partners located in the city, I am often asked by real estate professionals to compare it to Atlanta. Like any commercial broker, I have strong opinions – here’s how I see the two cities:

Infrastructure
Those who know Dallas cite the three outer loop freeways and hail the grid system. Yes, both concepts would greatly improve traffic here, but it is worth noting that Dallas has worse traffic than Atlanta. Further, Dallas is spending millions upon millions to get what we have had for years and no Texas city has – rail access to the airport. This doesn't mean we should sit on our hands.

Dallas has outpaced Atlanta over the last several years in road and transit construction so I’ll take this opportunity to implore you mark July 31st on your calendar to vote "Yes" on the transportation referendum. For us to keep pace with Dallas’ infrastructure, we’ll need to make sure the referendum passes.

Historical Numbers
You’ll hear people talk about how hot the Dallas market is, and its continued growth. But, since 1997, Atlanta office space has spent a majority of the time with vacancy rates around 15 percent. Not once since 1997, has Atlanta had an overall office vacancy rate over 18 percent. Conversely, since 1997 Dallas has never had a vacancy rate below 16 percent, and since 2002, it has not dropped below 19 percent. Let that sink in.

Dallas is a 20/20 market. Rental rates average $20 FS and vacancy hovers at 20 percent - should vacancy decline or rates increase, you can bank on the healthy developer culture to begin construction. Even today with a class A vacancy rate of 20.4 percent, Dallas is adding eight class A buildings totaling about 1 million square feet – two of which are speculative.

Presence
Atlanta has hosted two of the world’s largest events: the Olympics and the Super Bowl. What other city can claim that?

These events have a dramatic economic effect upon the city and indicate that our local government is doing its job.

But, the Dallas/Fort Worth area is surpassing us in this category and allowed Jerry Jones to build the 24th most expensive structure in mankind to attract the Super Bowl and the occasional high-profile college game. With a fully functioning mixed-use district (Victory Plaza) and the new Cowboys’ stadium, Dallas is passing us by. I can’t speculate whether or not a new Falcons’ stadium would be the best thing, but keeping the Thrashers and connecting MARTA to Turner Field would have helped us keep pace.

Quality of life
Schools and crime are roughly equal between Dallas and Atlanta. Highland Park is the outlying factor, but it’s a unique city within a city with an average home price of $1.2 million and high real estate taxes (you get what you pay for). Atlanta has a dramatic advantage in the natural beauty department. Look outside your office in Atlanta and enjoy our beautiful green canopy.

I prefer Piedmont Park to White Rock Lake in Dallas, but both have a similarly positive impact. Yet again, Dallas has not stopped working to improve. Dallas is almost finished with Woodall Rogers Park (imagine a park over our downtown connector) – not only will this help bridge their Downtown and Uptown submarkets, it will be the finishing touch on their Arts District.

Overall, Atlanta has a superior park system and proximity to beautiful natural areas – most Atlantans have fly fishing, mountain biking, and trails 15 minutes from their house. The closest thing like that in Dallas is actually in Colorado.

This is why I often tell my Dallas partners that my family is never leaving Atlanta.

Atlantans have recently spent a lot of time hand wringing about our city’s competitive position and looking in the rear view mirror. My advice is to look out the windshield instead. Let's set our sights on Chicago and Boston and not worry about Raleigh, Nashville, or Charlotte.

Atlanta is one of the greatest cities in America and we can’t forget that.

Read more of Benjamin's contributions by clicking here.

This week, Sarah Erickson contributed to D Real Points and shared her prediction for Dallas' Central Business District. See what she had to say:

The CBD Tipping Point

Over the last decade, Downtown Dallas Inc. has worked tirelessly to improve the central business district, and its efforts have been a raging success. Within the freeway loop, we now have thousands of residential units, multiple high-end restaurants, bars, and shops fronting Main Street; and the recently delivered Omni Dallas Convention Center Hotel. However, even with all of these accomplishments, downtown Dallas is still the worst-performing office submarket in North Texas, with a whopping 32.7 percent vacancy rate, versus the overall local average of 20.3 percent.

How can that be?

A majority of the nearly 9 million square feet of core CBD product that traded hands between 2005 and 2008 is now facing new ownership through some form of foreclosure, due to the lukewarm performance of these assets. At Stream, we’re fielding many calls from potential new owners. I was recently discussing these dynamics with a colleague, Ramsey March, and we came to a singular conclusion: This is not bad news, this is great news! With the supply-demand imbalance we’re experiencing for AA space in the Arts District and Uptown, this is finally downtown’s big chance.

Dallas is experiencing a long drought of speculative office development, and Arts District and Uptown developers have yet to make a formal announcement for new projects. Dallas lacks Class AA supply in the Arts District and Uptown with only two, 50,000-square-foot blocks and one 150,000-square-foot block. In the last real estate cycle, the first construction crane in Uptown went up in 2005, when vacancy reached 13.2 percent. Today, Uptown is at 16.2 percent. Although it appears to be tightening, we still have a modest way to go to hit the 13.2 percent number, and requirements for construction financing are much more stringent today than they were in 2005.

At the same time, demand from CBD tenants is fierce, with 8 million square feet in leases rolling over in the next five years. Where are these tenants going to go? Some of the demand will go to the existing class AA space in the Arts District and Uptown, and I do believe that one or two new buildings will be delivered. But that will account for just 500,000 to 1 million square feet of the CBD leases up for renewal.

So, where will the rest of the tenants go? Many CBD office users have had miserable experiences with struggling landlords, and would pack their boxes tonight if their lease expiration allowed and a quality option was available. And this, Dallas, is what we’ve all been waiting for!

To all of those investors looking at core CBD office buildings, this is your chance to be the knight in shining armor. Be the new owner that manages an office building properly, who returns phone calls, and provides Class A services. I can assure you, the first new investor in the core CBD wins, and will capture the surrounding demand.

Stream Realty has unveiled plans for extensive renovations at The Bellevue, a 119,545-square-foot office property located at 2323 S. Shepherd in the River Oaks area of Houston. The property was acquired by Stream Realty Partners in October 2011 in a joint venture partnership with DRA Advisors LLC.

Construction is scheduled to commence this month with a completion date set for September 2012. The Bellevue will undergo extensive upgrades, including:

• Full remodel of lobby with Class A finishes throughout to include glass exterior walls to improve natural lighting
• Modernization of elevator systems, including new cabs and renovated elevator lobbies
• Renovation of tenant floors with new lighting, ceilings, paint and carpet
• Restroom upgrades
• Upgraded landscaping and exterior lighting
• Relocation of power lines underground
• Installation of building automation system

The building’s prestigious inner-loop location, combined with the comprehensive enhancements underway, creates an unmatched opportunity for tenants looking for a well-located, top-tier office space.

Stream's Stewart Lyman and Philip Armes provide leasing services at the property.

Stream’s Clif Kennedy will manage construction for the project and HOK will provide architectural planning and design services. 

The Bellevue is currently 93-percent occupied by tenants including Oaks, Hartline & Daly LLP, Gauthier, Houghtaling & Williams LLP, Waterborne Energy Inc., and Ambrose and House Architects, LLP. The property is located near retail amenities inside the loop and the River Oaks, Memorial, West University and Montrose neighborhoods.

For more information or to schedule a tour, contact Stewart Lyman at slyman@streamrealty.com or Philip Armes at parmes@streamrealty.com.

Recently Rosewood Court was awarded with the LEED Gold Plaque by the US Green Building Council.  The ceremony took place at Ocean Prime in Rosewood Court and all of Rosewood Court's tenants attended. 

Congratulations to the team at Rosewood Court!

Rosewood Property Company SVP Dennis King holds the Gold Plaque awarded to Rosewood Court.  Standing with Dennis from left to right are: Christopher Sherman, Assistant Property Manager; Pam Logan, Senior Property Manager; Valerie Walsh, LEED Consultant; Bill Moebius, Director of Energy and Sustainability; Rick Matvey, Building Operations Manager; Jim Richmond, LEED Engineering Consultant.