Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.
The office real estate picture in Austin, TX is constantly changing but one company’s loss may be another company’s gain. Meta (NASDAQ:META) is leaving behind its lease in The Domain, a mixed-use neighborhood that includes several office towers.
Meta leased Domain 12, a 15-story glass tower, but as of Jan. 1, 2026, IBM will be taking over 320,000 square feet of office space. The property includes a cafe, outdoor terraces, a fitness center and bike storage. The new lease will extend the lease maturity from 2031 to 2040.
Check It Out:
This billion-dollar fund has invested in the next big real estate boom, here's how you can join for $10.
This is a paid advertisement. Carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the Fundrise Flagship Fund before investing. This and other information can be found in the Fund's prospectus. Read them carefully before investing.Mark Cuban believes “the next wave of revenue generation is around real estate and entertainment” — this new real estate fund allows you to get started with just $100.
IBM has a long history with the area now called the Domain. The original 235-acre IBM research campus was sold in 1999 for $60 million and IBM leased back part of the property. IBM announced that it would be relocating to a new campus by 2027. The company was planning to lease space in OneTerra, a 507,200-square-foot office project being developed by Hines Real Estate. In a statement, IBM said, “IBM remains committed to investing in new experiences for our clients and employees in this market.”
The move is a win for Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ), an office REIT that owns the building. Cousins’ Domain portfolio comprises 2.5 million square feet and is currently over 99% leased. “The Domain provides a highly amenitized experience that leading companies recognize as a critical tool to drive employee recruitment, retention and culture. We are thrilled to see growing customer demand for lifestyle office properties in Austin," said Colin Connolly, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cousins Properties.
Keep Reading:
A billion-dollar investment strategy with minimums as low as $10 — you can become part of the next big real estate boom today.
This is a paid advertisement. Carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the Fundrise Flagship Fund before investing. This and other information can be found in the Fund's prospectus. Read them carefully before investing.Commercial real estate has historically outperformed the stock market. This platform allows accredited investors to invest in commercial real estate, invest today for a 1% boost.
Meta has been changing its relationship with office properties in Austin and elsewhere. Over the past several years, it has tried to leave around one million square feet of office space in Austin. In 2022, it announced it would not be moving into the 586,000-square-foot space it leased at the recently completed Sixth & Guadalupe Tower, currently the tallest in Austin at 865 feet. Last year, the company also put 120,000 square feet at 300 West Sixth Street into the sublease pool. It still has 320,000 square feet of space at the Third + Shoal building.
Meta's office footprint is also shrinking in Bellevue, WA, where it has leased several properties, some of which are now up for sublease. Last year, it subleased its space in Fremont, CA, to a pharmaceutical company. It listed its 435,000-square-foot space at 181 Fremont in San Francisco for sublease in 2023 and potential interested tenants have included TikTok and Zendesk.
The Austin office market has been experiencing a lot of supply coming online at the same time that many companies are reconsidering their relationship with office space. Many tech companies have at least some footprint in the booming state capital but some have been reducing or scaling back their efforts. In recent months, as much as 20% of Austin's office space has been vacant. Deals are still getting done but are often smaller leases under 100,000 square feet as companies reconsider their relationship with large headquarters.
Invest In Texas
Ready to be part of the Texas market without having to buy or manage property? Cityfunds by Nada are city-specific portfolios of home equity investments. The portfolios contain fractional shares of unique homes in growth areas, diversified for stability. The home equity investments are obtained at below current market rates and are resilient to market interest rate fluctuations, making them a stable and attractive choice for investors, regardless of market conditions. Each city is structured as a REIT for home equity investments, allowing investors to gain exposure to the home equity market. Nada offers funds in Austin, Dallas, and Houston, making it an easy way to invest in Texas’s boom markets. Get started today.
Looking for fractional real estate investment opportunities? The Benzinga Real Estate Screener features the latest offerings.
This article Meta Is Leaving Its Austin Office, Guess What Big Tech Company Is Moving In originally appeared on Benzinga.com