Westlake wired for technologyAlthough the two areas of the country are separated by more than 1,700 miles, West Lake Hills and Silicon Valley in California share many similarities—topography, weather and the increasing number of high-tech companies growing their businesses in the Central Texas region.

With the summer announcement that Apple Inc. signed a lease for an entire office building in the Westlake area and Spiceworks’ relocation to western Travis County, technology firms have solidified an increased presence along the Loop 360 corridor, said Charisse Bodisch, senior vice president of economic development for the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce.

California high-tech executives are attracted to water activities in western Travis County, the Hill Country atmosphere, lower cost of living and the lack of a personal income tax, she said.

“When you look at Austin high-tech [hubs], you’ve got downtown, northwest and on [Loop] 360,” she said. “When you’re talking about [the Loop] 360 corridor, [the growth] definitely makes sense.”

Office development


In the past few decades, the Loop 360 corridor has established itself as a hub for office space and technology tenants, with the trend continuing in recent years, said Richard Paddock, leasing agent for HPI Real Estate Services and Investments. HPI leases office buildings along Loop 360 and will open 3900 San Clemente, a new Class A office space, in January, he said.

“[In 2015] there has been over 650,000 square feet of new office development in the area,” Paddock said.

“Together, the newly developed product [along with the existing office space] has an average occupancy of over 90 percent. “Indeed, Apple and Spiceworks are prime examples of continued technology growth in the area.”

Technology firms’ area growth


Bodisch said the topography of the Westlake area—including hills and views—attracted businesses to the area. Once technology development began in the area, more companies joined in the region’s technology firm growth, she said.

“The reason you are seeing [high-tech] growth [in Westlake] is because there is already [technology] production there,” Bodisch said.

Many high-tech staffers and executives live in nearby Northwest Austin or the Westlake area, and with the November completion of Loop 360’s Hotel Granduca to house corporate visitors, the region can accommodate the needs of the growing technology field, she said.

The Westlake area is even drawing technology firms that have generally envisioned downtown Austin as the city’s technology hub, Bodisch said.

Apple leased an entire 215,000-square-foot building at Capital Ridge Plaza, 320 Capital of Texas Hwy., Austin, in the summer. The Cupertino, California-based company also purchased a 350,000-square-foot office complex in Northwest Austin—Riata Crossing North—this year.

In August, information technology network developer Spiceworks relocated its corporate headquarters from a 56,000-square-foot space in a Northwest Austin office site to a 95,000-square-foot office site in Davenport Village, off Loop 360 in the Westlake area. The new office site for the 9-year-old company is less than a 3-mile drive from its previous site.

“First we recognized many employees had established roots near the previous office, and it was important to us to respect those decisions by trying to find a new home nearby,” Spiceworks Public Relations Manager Adam Schaeffer said. “Second, as a high-growth company, we needed an office that could not only meet our existing requirements but one that could also grow with us. Finally, [Loop] 360 is fairly accessible from all parts of Austin—the I-35 corridor, Central Austin, South/North Austin and the Lake Travis area.”

He said the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is also fairly easy to reach from Westlake for employees who need to travel often.

According to a 2015 report, “New Austin Capital Landscape Analysis,” compiled by the Austin Technology Council and the chamber, Austin ranks as the top city in the U.S. in 2015 for startup activity. The growth rate of entrepreneurs and startups continues to climb in the Austin metro area; its number of startups per 100,000 residents is higher now than Silicon Valley, the report states.

Future growth


Currently the chamber is monitoring high-tech companies’ trends, Bodisch said.

“We still have a lot of companies working with [upcoming] office projects,” she said. “These companies aren’t all beholden to downtown. You’re seeing a broader scope of [real estate] options now. Companies are more open to tap into some of the talent that is dispersed throughout the region.” She said traffic could be an impediment to future growth in the area.

“The traffic situation along Loop 360 makes it difficult to determine whether the current trends will continue,” Bodisch said. “Look at what is in the [land-use] planning process—what is proposed in City Hall today—to see where the [high-tech] trend is going. A lot of land and proposed developments are in Southwest Austin.”

Bodisch said 16 high-tech projects are proposed for Austin’s northwest area, and Round Rock has one development available with more than 600,000 square feet of Class A office space.

Westlake wired for technology