Comprising approximately 250,000 square feet of flex/R&D and nearly 20,000 square feet of retail space, groundbreaking for first two buildings expected late this year

AUSTIN, TX — St. John Properties, Inc. has acquired a 50-acre parcel in Leander, Texas, situated approximately 20 miles north of Austin, with intentions to develop an eight-building, 270,000 square foot mixed-use business community including flex/R&D and retail space, as well as three pad sites. Groundbreaking for the first phase of development at Leander Tech Park, will include two buildings offering a combined nearly 90,000 square feet of St. John Properties’ signature flex/R&D space, is expected to occur late this year with delivery expected in Q3 2025. The full-service commercial real estate development and management company has developed a national portfolio of over 24 million square feet of commercial space, valued at more than $5 billion. Colin Tierney and Taylor Golden of Gold Tier Real Estate represented the seller, Zekelman Industries, in this sale transaction with undisclosed terms. At full build out, Leander Tech Park will have the capacity to support approximately 850 jobs.     

Leander Tech Park represents St. John Properties’ third commercial development in the state, and their second in Leander since establishing their Austin regional office in 2022. The company acquired a nearly 35-acre site near the border of Georgetown and Round Rock last spring, and revealed plans to develop Westinghouse Crossing, a mixed-use community containing approximately 225,000 square feet of flex/R&D, single-story office, and retail space. Construction activities will commence at Westinghouse Crossing next month, and the first building is scheduled to deliver by end of 2024. Together with partner Tynberg, LLC, St. John Properties is also proceeding with development activities on a four-story 120,000 square foot office building within the 116-acre Northline development in Leander. The Class ‘A’ office building located at 373 Main Street features ground-floor retail space and is expected to be completed in mid-2025. 

Located at the southwest intersection of State Hwy 29 and Kauffman Loop on the border of Leander and Georgetown, Leander Tech Park will feature single-story flex/R&D buildings ranging from 31,560 to 50,639 square feet of space, as well as 18,850 square feet of retail contained within two inline buildings. The first two flex/R&D buildings will be developed as Phase I of the project, and will feature 18-foot ceiling heights and rear drive-in and raised loading docks to support a diverse set of end-users including those engaged in professional services, high-tech and light manufacturing, as well as distribution and logistics. In addition, all six flex/R&D buildings have been designed to achieve LEED Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED-certified buildings reduce the environmental impact on the development site and the surrounding neighborhoods, achieve lower local water, energy and wastewater demand, and eliminate the pollutants in sourced building materials.

St. John Properties is also currently marketing the sale or ground lease of three pad sites ranging from 1.4 acres to 2.7 acres that can support numerous uses including restaurants, banking, convenient stores/gas stations, and fast food.   

Leander ranked among top five fastest-growing cities for five consecutive years

According to data published by Leander Economic Development, the City of Leander features a population of more than 75,000 with a median household income of more than $126,000, figures that are expected to surpass 100,000 and $127,000 respectively by 2028. The median household income is 67 percent higher than the Texas average and 60 percent higher than the U.S. average. Leander is considered the fourth fastest-growing city in the United States with population growth just under 11 percent. This list of fastest-growing cities is topped by Georgetown, Texas, on whose border Leander Tech Park straddles. Leander has been ranked among the top five fastest-growing cities in the country for five consecutive years. Approximately 47 percent of its residents earned Bachelor’s degrees or higher, and the labor force within a 15-minute drive of the city approaches 140,000 workers.  Leander features an extremely diverse economy served by the education, healthcare services, professional and retail industries, with an unemployment rate currently under 4 percent.     

“We are excited to launch our third project in Williamson County in such a short amount of time. The greater Austin metropolitan region is ripe with opportunity to deliver high quality commercial product due to the strength and diversity of the business community, and population growth spurred by the area’s excellent quality of life,” stated Brooke Harlander, Regional Partner for St. John Properties’ Austin office. “We appreciate the City of Leander being great partners to us through permitting on Northline and we are excited to continue that relationship with another large project in the city limits. Our team intends to deliver best-in-class buildings, anticipating the emerging real estate requirements of new and existing tenants, and as always, provide the best service to our clients and the community.”

“The benefits of sustainable buildings are rapidly gaining traction, and LEED-certification is paramount among companies attuned to employee health and wellbeing,” Harlander added. “Companies are increasingly mandating LEED-certified buildings as research emerges about the importance of air quality and its impact on overall health and productivity. St. John Properties remains a leader in LEED development, and we stand by our record of employing innovative sustainable tactics at scale, across our portfolio.”

St. John Properties differentiated among peers by speculative development approach

St. John Properties is differentiated among its peers by its philosophy of developing real estate almost exclusively on a speculative basis, which enables the company to respond quickly to the emerging requirements of new and existing clients. The company has speculatively broken ground on nearly one million square feet of space nationwide throughout each of the last four consecutive yea rs, and intends to continue that strategy in 2024.

“Our team intends to remain aggressive in our approach to identify and acquire land holdings to develop from the ground up, as well as purchase under-performing assets where we can add value,” Harlander said. “We intend to be an active, long-term player in the greater Austin area, make a positive impact on the local community, and deliver business communities which become long-term job generators, and a hub for businesses small and large.”  

St. John Properties is vertically integrated, and will self-manage and self-lease their business communities in Texas, allowing the company to have direct contact and relationships with their clients and the community.

Founded in 1971, St. John Properties, Inc. is one of the nation’s largest and most successful privately held commercial real estate firms. The company is distinguished by its commitment to customer service, achievements in green building, and top-rated workplace culture. Throughout St. John Properties’ 53-year history, the company has developed more than 24 million square feet of flex/R&D, office, retail, and warehouse space, and has investments in over 3,000 residential units. The company proudly serves more than 2,600 clients in Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Utah, and Wisconsin. For more information about the company, visit www.sjpi.com.