Thomas Properties Group Sells Office Space in Research Park Plaza

By Camelia Bulea, Associate Editor

In 2007 Thomas Properties Group purchased Research Park Plaza from Blackstone Real Estate Advisors as part of a $1.15 billion bulk aquisition, Thomas’ largest acquisition ever, as well as the largest commercial real estate deal in Austin at the time. Four years later, the mega real estate company is selling the 271,889 sq. ft. of office space in the Austin complex.

The property includes two, four-story buildings that are about 93 percent leased. The building is equipped with state-of-the-art fiber optics. The property is LEED certified and Energy Star-rated.

Among the office’s biggest tenants are Charles Schwab, Emerson and Verigy. Occupying 166,000 sq. ft.—with a footprint comprising all of building II and part of building I—Schwab is the anchor tenant.

In an interview with The Statesman, Andy Smith, managing director of leasing for Thomas Properties in Austin, emphasized that the company is fully committed to the Austin market and won’t be selling any other properties in Austin this year.

In fact, the company was recently selected to manage and lease Austin Centre, a 16-story, class-A office building at 701 Brazos St. in downtown Austin. In addition to Austin Centre, Thomas Properties Group also has ownership interests, leases and manages six downtown Austin properties, which total nearly 2.9 million square feet of class-A office space: the Frost Bank Tower, One American Center, One Congress Plaza, San Jacinto Center, in 816 Congress and 300 West 6th Street in downtown Austin.

In a statement to the press made earlier this year, James A. Thomas  said the company is doing better than the previous year with improved operations; occupancy in March 31, 2011 was at 85.5 percent compared to 83.5 percent in March 31, 2011.