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Austin’s largest commercial property owner could be gearing up to build a multifamily residential development in North Austin.
Link Logistics Real Estate Management LLC, a subsidiary of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE: BX), is behind the project, according to a rezoning application filed with the city. Blackstone is the region’s top owner of commercial property, with 9 million square feet of residential, hotel, retail, storage and logistics space across 160 properties, according to the Austin Business Journal's latest list research.
LL Braker, as the project is called in city filings, would rise on a 6-acre site at 11209 Metric Blvd. off Braker Lane, just a few miles east of The Domain. The overall square footage of the project is unclear, but it's planned as a five-story multifamily development with nearly 500 units, structured parking and about 5,000 square feet of retail space, according to city filings. It was not immediately clear if the company is planning apartments or condos.
Link Logistics declined to comment.
The property is zoned for limited industrial use, but developers are requesting a planned development area overlay to include multifamily and retail uses. The request is set to be heard at the Jan. 30 meeting of Austin’s Zoning and Platting Commission.
An existing building at the site would need to be demolished prior to construction. Built in 1985, the one-story structure consists of 85,000 square feet and is part of an office and warehouse complex.
The Texas Juvenile Justice Department is listed online as having an office at the location. Representatives did not return requests for comment.
If built, LL Braker would add to a growing apartment inventory in Austin that has been making the market more competitive and pushing rent prices down.
Roughly 18,000 multifamily units were built during the first nine months of 2023, according to commercial real estate firm Partners. In the third quarter alone, production nearly doubled compared with the same period in 2022, from 3,996 to 7,508 units built.
The huge increase has led to a decline in occupancy rates, which fell to roughly 89% in the third quarter from 92% in the year-ago period, Partners reported.
The result for renters in the Austin metro has been some of the steepest declines in rental rates in the entire country, according to Rent.com's December market report. The median rent in Austin last month clocked in at $1,985, a 12.5% decrease from $2,270 in December 2022, the report stated. Of the 50 largest metros in the country, only Salt Lake City saw a greater year-over-year decrease in rental rates, with an almost 21% drop.
