Ari Rastegar is placing his bets on what he calls the Brooklyn of the Austin market.
The Austin-based real estate investor and founder of Rastegar Property Company is planning to build a 24,000-square-foot office building in East Austin. It’s the latest in a wave of office projects that have been proposed in recent months as the Texas capital attracts companies of all sizes and industries.
The east side has been a magnet for development as the available space in Austin dwindles. Separated from downtown by I-35, East Austin was historically home to the city’s minority communities because of mandated segregation. In recent decades, the area has seen a wave of retail, restaurant and office projects as it’s become a popular pocket of Austin. And much like the view of the Manhattan skyline from Williamsburg in Brooklyn, Rastegar said the view of Austin’s growing skyline — now sprinkled with construction cranes — was another selling point for the project on the east side.
“East Austin has a certain vibrance and a certain culture about it that’s really attractive. It’s … a Brooklyn of Austin,” Rastegar said. “East Austin will continue to grow and have great character and be one of the most desirable parts of Austin in general.”
The project, called 809 Skyline, will be delivered in April 2023. Rastegar wouldn’t disclose the estimated cost of construction.
The project team includes Rudick Construction, general contractor; Corgan, architect; and WGI, civil and MEP engineer. Dallas-headquartered Stream Realty Partners, which is also building an office project in the area, will handle leasing.
The 809 Skyline project is just one of several investments the firm is making across the region and nationwide, Rastegar said. The firm is developing a 318-acre master plan development in Kyle, the suburb southwest of Austin, which is expected to include single-family, multifamily and retail uses, plus a new elementary school, according to ABJ. Rastegar is also working on a 550,000-square-foot industrial project near the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and Tesla’s electric vehicle manufacturing facility in eastern Travis County. In the Dallas area, the firm is also developing a 26-story condo tower.
Rastegar Property has a portfolio spanning more than a dozen states and over 3.5 million square feet, with an emphasis on the Sunbelt region, according to its website. To be sure, Rastegar was quick to admit that he won’t pass up an opportunity elsewhere in the country. The firm is building a multifamily development in the Phoenix area.
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