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Apartments, hotel, shops proposed near forthcoming Apple campus in North Austin
By Erin Edgemon – Staff Writer, Austin Business Journal

https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/n..._news_headline

About 1,800 apartments, a 340-room hotel and 80,000 square feet of retail space could be added to a large business park next door to Apple's future $1 billion campus.

Accesso Partners LLC is seeking approval from the city of Austin to amend its planned development agreement at 7700 Parmer to allow for the additional uses and square footage on about 129 acres. 7700 Parmer is less than a mile north of the new Apple campus, which is under construction.

The amendment was submitted to the city in January by the Drenner Group on behalf of landowner Accesso and is now under review by the city’s Planning and Zoning Department. The application calls for the campus' surface parking lots to be redeveloped into a retail shopping center that would include restaurants, apartments and the hotel.

It’s unclear when the request will go before the Zoning and Platting Commission for consideration.

7700 Parmer, which is 138 acres, currently has 955,000 square feet of office space among four buildings originally built for Motorola. It’s about 99% leased to the likes of Google Inc., Paypal Inc., eBay Inc., Deloitte, Electronic Arts Inc. and Polycom Inc.

Accesso Partners — a Hallandale Beach, Florida-based real estate investment firm — acquired 7700 Parmer in 2015. The landowner could not immediately be reached for comment on its plans for the campus.

The forthcoming Apple campus is driving nearby development as companies anticipate a rise in demand for space near the tech giant. And, with Apple expected to initially employ another 5,000 people when the new campus opens in late 2021 or early 2022, there’s a definite need for more housing in the immediate area.

Apple already has its largest hub outside California — the Americas Operations Center at 12545 Riata Vista Circle — a short drive from the new campus.

In 2018, Accesso received approval from the city of Austin to amend the planned development agreement for 7700 Parmer to add another 800,000 square feet of office space there.

David Putman, a principal at Aquila Commercial LLC who handles office leasing at 7700 Parmer, said the new office buildings are currently in the planning phase. He said a site plan application will be filed with the city in the first half of the year with approval expected six to nine months after.

Construction of the new office space would take place in phases, with the first phase likely being 250,000 square feet, Putman said.

About five miles east of 7700 Parmer, there are plans in the works to add apartments, a hotel, shops and more office buildings on the 52-acre former campus of Hewlett Packard Enterprise at 14231 Tandem Blvd. No rezoning request or site plan application has been submitted to the city for approval just yet.