Posted Aug 12, 2017, 1:20 AM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 3,588
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Here you go:
https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/n...n-hq-city.html
Quote:
Whole Foods, Inc, appears to be taking steps to expand its downtown Austin corporate headquarters to a development under construction across the street.
Whole Foods would occupy a second building that could be built at 835 W. Sixth St., where Schlosser Development Co. is building the Shoal Creek Walk office tower, according to city documents examined by Austin Business Journal.
This area next to the Shoal Creek Walk construction site could be converted into a second tower, according to the city documents.
I spoke briefly to Will Marsh at Endeavor Real Estate Group on Aug. 10 to seek comment about the information I uncovered — because he appears to be heading up the development process on behalf of Whole Foods and in cooperation with Schlosser Development. He had not yet responded as of mid-day Friday. ABJ has also reached out to Whole Foods for comment.
The proposed site of the new office building is in the the center of the photo attached to this article, between Shoal Creek Walk under construction to the left and The Bowie apartment tower at far right.
The area is a very condensed half-block of construction. Documents indicate that a pedestrian bridge is in the works that would link Whole Food’s corporate office and flagship store to the Shoal Creek Walk development, which is several months from completion.
That 15-story Shoal Creek Walk mostly will be occupied by Cirrus Logic Inc., another Austin-based public company that is overflowing at its current headquarters on Sixth Street.
Original plans reviewed
Schlosser Development had always contemplated a second building at that Shoal Creek Walk site, but didn’t talk about it too much when development plans were approved in 2013.
A deeper inspection into Schlosser’s original plans show the site could accommodate a five-story, 185,000-square-foot building in addition to the 220,000-square-foot Shoal Creek Walk.
There have been rumors floating around that Hut’s Hamburgers and its affiliated restaurant, Frank & Angie’s Pizza, might be slated for demolition to make way for more office construction, but that doesn’t appear to be the case with this deal. The restaurants are to the east of Shoal Creek, beyond the Shoal Creek Walk development boundary. Hut's owner Mike Hutchinson said the well-known restaurant has no plans to move.
Until now it doesn’t appear that there was much urgency to add another building to the Shoal Creek Walk project, but a couple of significant factors have surfaced.
First, the existing site plan is due to expire next month. If Schlosser doesn’t utilize all the land development entitlements it received in 2012 and 2013, the process would have to start anew for another building — a significant delay and expense.
Second, Whole Foods may feel the need to expand its corporate headquarters quickly with the blockbuster acquisition by Amazon.com Inc. pending.
Here’s what I know for now:
City documents show that Endeavor's Will Marsh filed Aug. 7 for an time extension of Schlosser’s Shoal Creek Walk site permit.
Both Endeavor and Schlosser have deep real estate ties with Whole Foods, so it’s not surprising that both are cooperating on this.
Documents filed by Endeavor include a letter from Joseph Longaro of LJA Engineering asking for a five-year extension that would allow construction of a second building along with an above-ground parking garage.
Longaro has been representing Schlosser throughout its development process of Shoal Creek Walk.
Capitol view corridors at play?
A key filing at the city which seems to signify that Whole Foods is ready to move is a May 30 request by Longaro for Capitol view corridor determination — the cost of which was billed to Whole Foods, according to public records.
The Capitol view corridor determination is something uniquely Austin. Years ago, City Council passed an ordinance protecting several views of the Texas Capitol from various locations. Though it doesn’t appear that the Shoal Creek Walk tower under construction is within the corridor, a second building could be limited to some degree by the view corridor between the Capitol and locations southwest of downtown.
A spokeswoman for the city said the Capitol view corridor determination would likely be finished by city staff in the next few days.
Here’s a chronology of what I’ve been able to ascertain about the potential Whole Foods expansion.
Austin-based Schlosser, which developed Whole Foods’ original flagship store and headquarters, filed for a site plan for Shoal Creek Walk in 2011. It received entitlements for 430,000 square feet of office space and 44,600 square feet of retail space on a 2.71-acre parcel east of Bowie Street between Fifth and Sixth streets. Those plans were formally approved in 2012.
Schlosser began construction in summer 2015 of phase I of Shoal Creek Walk — about 220,000 square feet of the land entitlements it received from the city, or a small portion of the 430,000 square feet granted. Though it openly marketed the office space to the business community, Cirrus Logic quickly signed up for several floors. Several other tenants are also under contract to occupy the building.
On March 30 of this year Longaro wrote a letter to the city development staff, describing a “correction” to the Shoal Creek Walk project that would create “two separate phases.” This appears to be the first formal acknowledgement of another building. Phase 2, he wrote, would include another tower, an above-ground parking garage and a water irrigation tank.
Longaro filed a request for a Capitol view corridor determination on May 30 for the second building — which would outline how many stories could be built without encroaching the view corridor.
Marsh signed a request for an overall site plan extension of Shoal Creek Walk on July 31. Richard Duggan, an executive with Schlosser, also signed off the same day, according to the documents filed with the city.
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