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Originally Posted by austlar1
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TikTok may have reversed its stance on office needs in downtown Austin
Filings show tenant finish-out work at 300 Colorado is coming along
TikTok Inc. appears to be rethinking its real estate footprint in downtown Austin.
About five months ago, the six floors that the social media company leases in the 300 Colorado tower landed on the sublease market. Now, a filing for a tenant finish out on four of those floors has been filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation with the project name "TikTok Austin."
Details are scarce, though the filing brings into question what the company has planned for its office space off Third and Colorado streets. The fresh construction filing could indicate that TikTok reversed course and decided to occupy four of its six floors.
TikTok has indeed shown signs it intends to continue to grow in the Texas capital. As of Sept. 19, the short-form video app company had 55 job openings in Austin, ranging from product operations manager to sales lead to AI quality assurance specialist.
If it does end up occupying the space, it would be a welcome respite from the bad news commercial landlords have lived through lately. Companies left and right — including giants such as Indeed.com, Home Depot and 3M — are trying to jettison office space via subleases, and many are having a tough time doing so. In a nutshell, the work-from-anywhere trend is sticking and some companies, such as Facebook parent Meta, have downsized.
TikTok did not respond to requests for comment, and Jones Lang Lasalle Inc. — which is advertising TikTok’s sublease space — declined to comment. It’s worth noting that TDLR filings are preliminary and the details are subject to change.
TikTok subleased the upper six floors in the 32-story tower in February 2022 when oil and gas company Parsley Energy Inc. shut down operations there after it was acquired by Irving-based Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE: PXD) in 2021.
In April, TikTok put the 126,429 square feet it subleased up for sublease.
The four floors that will be worked on are 27, 28, 29 and 32, according to TDLR. The scope of work is a “first generation interior finish out of tenant office space,” and will consist of 84,600 square feet.
Construction is estimated to begin in October and be complete by March 2024. The project is estimated to cost $17 million.
IA Interior Architects is listed as the design firm.