MANOR – The city council has unanimously voted to rezone 63 acres south of US​ 290 for a 335-townhome project​​​.

The community will have mostly three- and four-bedroom townhomes ranging from 1,100 to 1,700 sf. All homes will have a backyard and garage.

Amenities include a clubhouse, gym, pool, and 11 acres of open space with a dog park.

Mill Creek Residential is developing the site.​

GEORGETOWN – LRIC Properties has sold the Republic Square shopping center at 900-930 N. Austin Ave. to a California-based partnership.

The 113,772-sf center is almost 93 percent leased, housing tenants such as Dollar Tree, Harbor Freight, Starbucks, Chipotle, Pizza Hut, and more.

Disney Investment Group brokered the sale.​​

​​GEORGETOWN – The city council has approved construction of two self-storage facilities spanning a combined 250,000 sf.

The properties will be at 1301 NE Loop and 2701 E. University.

Plans for both sites call for three-story buildings and over 120,000 sf. The University site will have an additional 8,500 sf of rentable commercial space.

Mauldin Architects will design both projects. Construction begins later this year.​

SAN ANTONIO – The city has begun construction on The Link, a public pathway connecting the San Antonio Riverwalk and the San Pedro Creek Culture Park.

Universal Services Group's $400 million project will include green spaces, water features, and public art. A Dream Hotel will anchor one end of the pathway.

The city has allocated $41 million to begin work.​

AUSTIN – Tesla has filed plans with the city to build a 500,000-sf addition to its newly opened Gigafactory at 13101 Tesla Rd.

The current facility, which opened in April, spans over four million sf.

The expansion will include two new assembly lines.​

​AUSTIN – Pearlstone Partners is planning a 48-story residential tower on two vacant tracts at 62 and 64 East Ave.

The development will have 245 condominiums.

Construction begins in 2023 and will wrap up in 2026.​

​AUSTIN – Cadence McShane is bringing a 378-unit multifamily housing and retail development to 13621 Lyndhurst St.

The development comprises two four-story buildings. The first will have 165 units and 2,000 sf of retail space, the second will have 213 units and 5,000 sf of retail space.

Amenities include two fitness centers, electric vehicle charging stations, and multiple pools.

Retail will include a coffee-beer-wine shop, restaurant, convenience store, and outdoor seating.

Sabot Development, American Residential Group, and STG Design are collaborating with Cadence McShane on the project. Construction wraps in fall 2024.​​

GEORGETOWN – California-based solar roofing company GAF Energy LLC is developing a 450,000-sf manufacturing, research, and office facility at the corner of I-35 and SE Inner Loop.

The city council unanimously approved the $100 million project July 12. The facility could create at least 265 jobs over five years.

Portman Industrial is handling construction. 

Completion is slated for June 2023 with GAF's lease beginning in 2024.​​​

COLLEGE STATION – Sales of luxury homes – those priced at $1 million or more – have risen significantly from pre-pandemic levels in Texas’ four largest metros, with Austin showing particularly strong momentum.

The number of luxury homes sold in Austin in the first five months of 2022 was almost twice the number sold there for all of 2018. Compare that with Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, and San Antonio, where the number sold during the same period was about on par with the total sold in those cities four years ago.

Housing data show Austin’s luxury market has been gaining momentum over the past few years.

In 2018, the city’s luxury sales were half of those in Houston and DFW. By 2021, though, Austin was only slightly behind Houston. The two cities have been neck and neck this year in terms of luxury home sales, and Joshua Roberson, lead data analyst with the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University, says Austin is poised to surpass Houston.

“What makes this all the more remarkable is that Austin’s population is only about one-sixth the population of Houston and one-seventh that of DFW,” Roberson said.

DFW has led the state in luxury home sales for five years in a row.

“In-state migration, particularly among higher-income households, has propelled luxury home markets,” Roberson said. “And booming DFW and Austin have provided steady growth for the state’s overall luxury market.”

However, while year-to-date sales are on pace to surpass pre-pandemic sales, Roberson says it’s too early to tell if there is enough momentum to exceed 2021 sales.