Partners Capital Acquires Vacated Austin Flex-Office Building

Partners Real Estate’s latest opportunity fund is only about halfway to its minimum goal of $70 million, but the firm’s troop of brokers is already putting it to work.

The Houston-based commercial real estate firm bought the Monterey Tech Center, at 4407 Monterey Oaks Boulevard, through its investment arm, Partners Capital, marking the third acquisition by its Opportunity Fund V, the Austin Business Journal reported.

Veritex Community Bank’s Brent Reed and Peyton Jones financed the acquisition. The price wasn’t disclosed.

The 74,300-square-foot lowrise flex-office building sits on 5.6 acres at the southwest intersection of Highway 290 and MoPac Expressway in Southwest Austin.

“It’s one of the few properties with industrial zoning in the Barton Creek Watershed, an area with strict development restrictions due to the aquifer. It’s been years since any space here has been available for lease, and we expect high tenant demand for a flex/industrial option in southwest Austin,” said Adam Hawkins, a partner at Partners Capital.

Built in 2001, it is only 16 percent occupied after Nutrabolt and Hope in the City exited their spaces. Hope in the City was the building’s previous owner, the outlet reported. The two-building site now has 25,000 square feet available in one building and over 40,000 square feet in the other.

The firm has “over 200 brokers who are bringing us deals,” said Adam Hawkins, a partner at Partners Capital. It’s important to have “boots on the ground,” he said.

“We found this deal on our own through cold calling and just being in the marketplace,” Hawkins told the outlet.

Opportunity Fund V has raised $40 million and aims to reach between $75 million and $150 million. The fund previously facilitated the purchase of a flex office building in Houston and a shopping center in Fort Worth.

— Andrew Terrell