Some people growing their businesses in the Lake Travis-Westlake area say they are choosing to buy new space as they expand rather than lease. At the same time, those entrepreneurs see benefits from remaining part of the local community through owning a piece of commercial real estate, experts said. A sample of recent real estate data shows a robust market for such space, with nearly all new construction listed aimed at owners of a small or medium-sized business who want to purchase their office for the long term. Carrie Welch is a State Farm insurance agent with 10 years in business in Bee Cave who is planning to move in December to a new shared office condo building under construction on Bee Cave Parkway near West Hwy. 71. “I had the same landlord for seven years, and he never raised my rent. When I got a new landlord two and a half years ago, the rents went crazy, through the roof,” she said. “It was an eye-opener, so knowing I’m going to be in business in the market for decades to come, I didn’t think it would be prudent for me to [continue to] rent.” Welch said buying new is appealing. She backed out of an offer she put on an older office condo on North RM 620 when an inspection revealed termites. “[And when we were] looking up and down Hwy. 71 there are ‘For sale’ signs, but nobody was responding,” she said. Bee Cave Professional Building Welch is purchasing 2,700 square feet of a nearly 7,900-square-foot complex located at 14061 Bee Cave Parkway. She will join other established local businesses: Carlos Almeida, owner of Bee Cave Acupuncture, and personal injury attorney Paul Colley, who runs Colley Firm P.C. At press time April 4, one unit at the Bee Cave Professional Offices remained available, according to real estate records. The builder, Ron Evans, principal at Huffman Builders, told Community Impact Newspaper the Bee Cave Professional Park is his first foray into Lake Travis-Westlake after working on other office projects in Cedar Park, Round Rock and Pflugerville. “We’re [also] looking at some land on West Hwy. 71 where we can do this again,” Evans said. “We’re a presale model. People sign up with us well in advance of their lease coming up and our project kicking off. We need a critical mass of buyers before we’ll break ground on it.” Cherry Peak Office Park Another builder/developer looking to capitalize on what he sees as a demand for the office condo product is Todd Fletcher, principal at Peak Design+Build. His Cherry Peak office complex, located at 3503 Wild Cherry Drive behind Baylor Scott & White Medical Center-Lakeway, will feature a community of about 11 free-standing offices ranging in size from 1,700 square feet to 6,600 square feet and totaling 46,200 square feet. Fletcher said he is also planning to build a 20,000-square-foot office close by. Fletcher said he has city building permits in hand and is ready this spring to get a speculative building finished out. He is also planning to erect  what is known as a warm shell, with heating, cooling and electrical in place, to attract small business owners, including doctors, who he said would be interested in this type of owner-occupied model. “I think a lot of people see value in having their own four walls and space around them and not having to deal with elevators and lobbies,” he said. Falconhead Offices While the concept of office condos is not new, one broker team sees fresh opportunity in the Lake Travis area. St. Croix Capital Realty Advisors staff John Collins and Stephen DiPizzo are selling warm shell space to buyers or tenants in the Falconhead Offices, an 80,000-square-foot complex going up behind the newly completed Gateway to Falconhead shopping center at 3500 S. RM 620, Bee Cave. There’s just [been] a lack of delivery of this type of product. The existing product is already absorbed, Collins said. “You get into Austin’s growing population and all the things that go with that in the auxiliary areas, [the South RM 620 area] is a good market. New [residential] rooftops are [equal to] increased [office] demand.” One of the partners behind Falconhead Offices is Steve Kanetzky, who also built Mesa Oaks, a six-building, 120,000-square-foot complex in southwest Austin. “[Falconhead] was a timing thing. The economy’s great right now; [the commercial] real estate [market] is great,” Kanetzky said, adding he is planning his next office project in Dripping Springs. Flintrock Trace Office Park One office condo complex that has proven the office condo concept, according to its owners, is the Flintrock Trace Office Park, 2802-2806 Flintrock Trace, Lakeway. Josh Stivers, principal at Platinum Wealth Advisory, bought 1,200 square feet three years ago after first leasing in the same building from another owner. Today, he himself is a landlord, leasing two of his four, small second-floor offices to tenants to offset his monthly real estate costs. Stivers is one of three owners who sits on the condo association board. “We have very strong association with a meticulous attention to detail and really good relationship with the property management company [for any maintenance or landscaping issues],” Stivers said. He also said his clients appreciate he has established his Lakeway office near where they live and that it is unlikely he would have to relocate due to unforeseen circumstances such as rent increases. Stivers advised business owners looking at buying their professional space to be aware of annual property tax appraisal adjustments just like possible increases faced by any residential property owner. But he said as long as an office condo buyer has the financial capital upfront, there is no downside. “I really like the smallness of our building. We have five condos here upstairs and downstairs, four. There’s not a lot of foot traffic; we know everybody,” he said, adding it is a good feeling to have secured a mortgage loan from a locally owned bank, thereby keeping his investment part of the Lake Travis-Westlake economy.