posted on April 07, 2011 21:04
A vacant Austin office building that was placed in foreclosure in 2009 has been bought by a Houston-based company.
Crimson Real Estate Fund LP and partner USAA Real Estate Co. have acquired the Aspen Lake office building in far Northwest Austin from Wells Fargo Bank. The deal comes two years to the month after Park At Aspen Lake II LP, the owner of the Class A, 205,000-square-foot building, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with at least $10 million of debt.
Aspen Lake is a vacant four-story office building near the intersection of U.S. Highway 183 and State Highway 45. Aquila Commercial LLC is handling the building leasing.
The sale of the property signals that the rebound of the office building market is finally reaching the outer edges of Austin after showing signs of revitalization in other parts of the city, said Aquila Principal Bart Matheney.
USAA Real Estate is the largest investor in Crimson Real Estate Fund, or CREF, which acquires and repositions real estate deals. CREF is managed by Houston-based Crimson Real Estate Advisors.
Aspen Lake is Crimson’s first local acquisition, but Senior Managing Director Dennis Tarrow said he’s hoping the deal leads to other local properties.
“The opportunity to come to Austin hasn’t come until now,” he said.
Austin-based Aspen Properties Inc., founded in 1976, was one of Austin’s largest office landlords. It developed shopping centers, mixed-use projects, research and development industrial parks, apartments, condominiums and private residential communities.
In 2009, the company reworked its management team after the death of its founder and CEO, John Tworoger.
In October 2010, Aspen Properties refinanced a five-property office portfolio for $97 million. Bank of America financed the arrangement covering a total 656,873 square feet in Northwest Austin. The properties included 8303 Mopac, Colina West, Parkline and Prominent Pointe I and II.
3/30/11, Christopher Calnan, Houston Business Journal