Need to Lease Commercial Real Estate Space?

There’s a lot to love about leasing commercial space and moving your company to a neighborhood in Austin Tx. We’ll explore some of Austin’s best neighborhoods. You’ll get tips on how to choose where to locate your company and essential info on lease trends in the commercial real estate market.

Choosing a Neighborhood In Austin

The question I get the most is, “what’s the best neighborhood to operate my business?” Well, that depends on a lot of factors . Here are some things to consider when choosing a place to lease commercial property:

• Austin is one of the fastest growing cities in the country. And what residents know is even a short drive can take longer than anticipated (think driving from Downtown Austin to Northwest Austin at 6pm).
• Each neighborhood has its own benefits but it’s difficult to understand which one suits your company’s needs unless you explore. Cause if you want your employees to be able to walk to their favorite restaurants to have lunch, meet friends at a bar to have drinks, or walk in the morning to pick up coffee you may not want your office to be in Southwest Austin. Same goes if your company craves hill country views when you arrive to work officing Downtown may not be for you.
• Maybe your company thinks having creative office space is more important to lease regardless of where it’s located.
• Where do your employees live and how do they get to work?
• Where is the talent pool?
• Do you need to be close to your customers?
• Will you have visitors?
• What do you want your visitors to think when they drive to your place of business?
• Where do the executives live?
• What is your monthly rent budget? Is money no object or are you looking for the least expensive commercial spaces?
• Do you need to be near the airport, major highways, or public transportation?
• Are you wanting to be near specific industries (e.g. tech, government, etc.)?
• Do you need traditional office space, warehouse space, or a combination of both?
• Do you plan on shipping or receiving inventory or products via 18 wheeler?

Those are a few things to consider when deciding what you want from a neighborhood. Now let’s look at the commercial real estate market in each. You can click on the links to get more information about each neighborhood.

Types of Commercial Real Estate

There is over 300,000,000 sf of commercial real estate space for lease in Austin, Tx, however not every type of commercial space will work for your business.

In order to determine that a location is suitable for your business you must:

• Check the zoning for each property. The Austin metro area is very strict about zoning. 
• Find out the previous use. Even if the zoning is ok, If the certificate of occupancy has a previously different use than yours than you will have to apply for a change of use permit.

Office space for rent is more suitable for industries such as finance, tech, government, law firms, health, accounting, consulting, life sciences, counseling, and other professional services. 

During your commercial space search it’s important that you check the zoning for each

Downtown Austin

This is the central business district of Austin,Tx, and its beating heart, with its thriving entertainment districts, local government, and Educational systems. Downtown Austin is the epicenter of one of the nation’s fastest growing cities and it’s just getting started.

Location: Area between Martin Luther King Jr Blvd on the North, on the South by Lady Bird Lake, on the East by IH 35, and on the West by N Lamar Blvd.

Walkability: If you want an office in a location where your employees can walk to get coffee, lunch, or a drink with coworkers or friends then this is the place you want to be.

Known For: Great live music venues & nightlife, Running, biking, & paddle boarding around Lady Bird Lake, The Austin bats, and the State Capital Building

Fun Fact: Being home to some of the last remaining moonlight towers which you probably recognized from the 1993 cult classic “Dazed and Confused.”

Average Gross Commercial Space Lease Rates:
Office Space – $45 to $70 SF
Retail Space – $50 to $70 SF

Zip Codes – 78701

Neighborhoods Nearby – North, Northeast, Northwest, North Central, East, West, South, Southeast, Southwest

North Austin
This area is conveniently located between several of the major roadways in Austin making it an easy 15-20 minute commute to downtown and to other areas of Austin. It’s also near many of the major employers in town and The Domain which is a mixed-use outdoor shopping and dining center that we like to call the “new downtown” complete with national retailers, boutique shops, top restaurants, and major department stores. If you are looking for a location that your employees can walk to get coffee, lunch, or nightlife then North Austin should be on your list.

Location: Area between US 183 on the South, on the North by SH 45, on the East by I-35, and on the West by Loop 1

Walkability: Overall not very walkable unless you lease office space in The Domain. There your employees can walk to get coffee, lunch, or a drink with coworkers and friends.

Known For: The Domain, Walnut Creek Metropolitan Park, Balcones District Park, and a number of other park and recreation facilities.

Major Employers: Apple, PayPal, IBM, Microsoft, TACC, Lam Research, HP, NI, Amazon, HomeAway

Average Commercial Real Estate Lease Rates:
Office Space – $20 to $50 SF + NNN
Class A Office Space – $60 to $70 Sf Gross
Warehouse Space – $7 to $9 Sf + NNN
Flex Office – $12 to $18 SF + NNN
Retail Space – $15 to $40 SF + NNN

Zip Codes – 78727, 78728, 78729, 78758, 78753

Neighborhoods Nearby – Downtown, Northeast, Northwest, North Central, East, West, South, Southeast, Southwest

Northeast Austin
This is where you will find some of the least expensive office lease rates in decent class B buildings because the overall area is more semi-industrial. The proximity to major highways makes it easy for employees to travel to just about anywhere in the city or other nearby cities.

Location: Area outline is I-35 on the West, on the south by US 290, on the east by SH-130 and on the north by Wells Branch Pkwy

Known For: Tech Ridge, being mostly a large industrial and corporate area

Major Employers: Applied Materials, Samsung, Valin, Semes

Commercial Real Estate – This area is mostly industrial in nature however there are a handful of office buildings. If you are looking for the least expensive office lease rates in Austin and still be close to Downtown and the airport then Northeast is where you need to be.

Average Gross Rent:
Office Space – $21 to 25 SF
Warehouse Space – $1.00 SF
Flex Space – $1.30 SF

Zip Codes: 78723, 78752, 78753, 78754

Neighborhoods Nearby: Downtown, North, Northwest, North Central, East, West, South, Southeast, Southwest

Northwest Austin
Great location if you’re looking for a quieter office area with trees and hill country views as well as easy access to major highways for employees to get around.

Location: Area between RM 2222 on the South, on the North by SH 45 , on the East by Loop 1, and on the West by RM 620

Walkability: Overall NW Austin is not very walkable unless you office in/around The Arboretum at Great Hills. There you will find 8 Class A office buildings with about 815K rentable square feet. Here your employees can walk to get coffee or lunch. There are plenty of other shopping, dining, and entertainment options minutes away from here.

Known For: Hill country views, The Arboretum, Mount Bonnell, Bull Creek Greenbelt

Major Employers: Cisco, Luminex, AT&T, Oracle, Indeed, Paypal

Commercial Real Estate
You will find a handful of industrial warehouse and flex office properties around here however this area mostly consists of class A, B, and C office space.

Average Gross Rent (includes base rate and estimated NNN)
Office Space – $35 to $50 sf
Industrial Warehouse Space – $14 to $16 sf
Flex Office – $16 to $20 sf
Retail Space – $35 to $60 sf

Zip Codes – 78726, 78730, 78731, 78732, 78759, 78750

Neighborhoods Nearby – Downtown, North, Northeast, North Central, East, West, South, Southeast, Southwest

North Central
More eclectic part of town that consists of mainly retail space, a mix of traditional office buildings, and old houses zoned for commercial use. Not much industrial space in this area. Lot’s of redevelopment happening with apartments on top and retail space on the bottom.

Location: Area between Martin Luther King Jr Blvd on the South, on the North by US 183 , on the East by I-35, and on the West by Loop 1.

Walkability: It’s not quite walkable like downtown or The Domain however employees can walk up and down North Lamar. You often see people jogging to downtown Austin.

Known For: Medical district, The Triangle, Hyde Park

Fun Fact: Top Notch Hamburgers where parts of Dazed and Confused was shot was located on Burnet Rd

Commercial Real Estate

Average Gross Rent:
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Zip Codes – 78705, 78751, 78756, 78757

Neighborhoods Nearby – Downtown, North, Northeast, Northwest, East, West, South, Southeast, Southwest

East Austin

Location: Area between I-35 on the West, on the North by US 290 , on the South by the Colorado River / SH 71, and to the East a few miles past SH 130

Known For:

Fun Fact?

Commercial Real Estate

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Zip Codes – 78742, 78724, 78702, 78723, 78721, 78722

Neighborhoods Nearby – Downtown, North, Northeast, Northwest, North Central, West, South, Southeast, Southwest
South Austin

Location: Area between SH 45 on the South, on the North by Lady Bird Lake , on the East by I-35, and on the West by Loop 1.

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Zip Codes – 78748, 78704, 78745

Neighborhoods Nearby – Downtown, North, Northeast, Northwest, North Central, East, West, Southeast, Southwest

Southwest Austin

Location: Area between Lake Austin / Colorado River on the North, on the East by Loop 1, on the West by RM 620, to almost Dripping Springs on the Southwest side of town

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Zip Codes – 78749, 78735, 78737, 78738, 78734, 78746, 78733

Neighborhoods Nearby – Downtown, North, Northeast, Northwest, North Central, East, West, South, Southeast

Southeast Austin

Location: Area between Colorado River / SH 71 on the North, on the West by I-35, on the South by SH 45, and continues a ways past SH 130 Southeast

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Zip Codes – 78741, 78744, 78747, 78719

Neighborhoods Nearby – Downtown, North, Northeast, Northwest, North Central, East, West, South, Southwest

South Central

Location: Area between US 290 on the South, on the North by Lady Bird Lake , on the East by I-35, and on the West by Loop 1.

Known For:

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West Austin / Westlake

Location: Area between Loop 360 on the West, on the North by W 38th St , on the South by Loop 360, and to the East Loop 1

Known For:

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Commercial Real Estate

Average Gross Rent:
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Zip Codes – 78746, 78703

Neighborhoods Nearby – Downtown, North, Northeast, Northwest, North Central, West, South, Southeast, Southwest