Passco Acquires New Community in Promising Austin Suburb

By Andie Lowenstein, Associate Editor

Austin, Texas – Passco Companies LLC acquired a newly completed multifamily community in Round Rock, Texas, a suburb of Austin.

Lone Oak Apartments is a 304-unit, Class A garden-style property.

“This acquisition furthers our company strategy to strategically invest in markets that are on pace for significant growth over the next decade,” explained Goodman. “Located only 23 miles from Downtown Austin in one of the most desired suburbs in the region, this recently completed property will provide Passco with a consistently high-quality asset for years to come.”

According to Goodman, Lone Oak Apartments was completed in 2014 and is currently 92 percent occupied.

“The area’s booming IT industry and a recent surge in development will continue to fuel the expansion of Austin in the coming years,” he added. “In fact high tech employment is up 30 percent since 2010, contributing to the area’s low unemployment rate of only 3.5 percent, which is far below the current U.S. national average.”

There are more than one million employees in the Austin MSA. The area’s largest employers include companies such as the University of Texas, Dell Inc., Seton Healthcare, IBM and Flextronics International.

Goodman noted that along with strong employment in the region, personal income growth is expected to rise tremendously over the next five years, in some cases doubling national projections.

Recent development activity within the area also increased occupancy levels. According to Goodman, the Austin apartment market’s average occupancy rate is 94.4 percent and the Round Rock area’s rate is as high as 97.8 percent.

“In both Austin and its Round Rock submarket, occupancy rates have increased each year for five consecutive years,” Goodman said. “As occupancy climbs and Austin expands, renters will continue to look outside the downtown area for housing.”

Round Rock has seen significant growth on its own, as the area is home to several new hospitals, major retail shopping centers and new education facilities.

“Round Rock was recently named among the safest cities in the U.S., and also boasts an award winning park system and public schools,” he explained. “These factors are very attractive to the highly educated, high tech professionals who work in the Austin MSA and desire a high quality living environment for their families.”

According to Goodman, none of the local properties in competition with Lone Oak match the asset’s quality location or hill top views.

The property features 304 units across 16 three-story buildings with one-, two- and three-bedroom floorplans. Units include vaulted ceilings, granite kitchen countertops, stainless steel appliances, full size washers and dryers, large direct access garages, garden tubs, gourmet kitchen areas, intrusion alarm systems, private patios, and spacious walk-in closets.

The property showcases a variety of luxury amenities including a clubhouse, business center, billiards/game room, cyber café bar, poolside BBQ grills, resort style swimming pool, Pet Park and fitness center.

Chris Black of KeyBank Real Estate Capital’s Commercial Mortgage Group arranged the financing through Fannie Mae for the acquisition of the property.