Office leasing volume may have been down in 2022 compared to previous years, but the Austin market still managed to secure a number of significant tenants over the last 12 months. In this article, we’ll take a look at the five largest Austin office leases of 2022.
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1. Vista Equity Partners
Vista Equity Partners, a global tech investment firm headquartered in Austin, signed a lease for 200,000 square feet at The Republic in 2Q 2022. This lease made Vista Equity the building’s first major tenant, which prompted the beginning of construction on this 48-story office tower.
Once completed, The Republic will overlook Republic Square, one of four secondary public squares in the city’s original design. Home to farmers’ markets and yoga classes on the weekends, this square attracts significant foot traffic and will draw attention to the Class A tower located in the heart of downtown. The Republic is expected to deliver in June 2025.
2. Advanced Micro Devices
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), a global company specializing in manufacturing semiconductor devices, signed a lease for 145,000 square feet at Met Center in 2Q 2022. This space is in addition to its 98,920 square feet space at 7171 Southwest Parkway. AMD first came to Austin in 1979 and has been here ever since.
The Santa Clara-based company makes this move simultaneously with its competitor Qualcomm as they both aim to take advantage of the tech hub in Austin. Met Center includes over 2.5 million square feet completed and 1 million square feet ready for construction.
3. TikTok
Tiktok, the video-based social media company, leased 126,000 square feet in 300 Colorado in 1Q 2022. The announcement came after months of speculation that Tiktok was searching for significant space in Austin. Tiktok subleased the space from Parsley Energy, which had originally intended to occupy the majority of 300 Colorado but shut down its Austin operations when it was acquired in 2021.
TikTok occupies the top six floors in the 32-story office tower. Currently, TikTok has 789 employees in the Austin area and 120 job openings, according to the company’s LinkedIn page.
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4. Atmosphere
Atmosphere, a spinoff of Austin-based Chive Media Group that offers video streaming services for businesses, leased the majority of Bouldin Creek in 1Q 2022. Bouldin Creek, a recently delivered project owned by Divco West, is now nearly fully leased.
Atmosphere was founded in 2019 and has 606 employees in Austin. The Austin-based spin-off has begun a global campaign amassing 45,000 venues in 35 countries worldwide.
5. Qualcomm
Qualcomm, a global tech company specializing in manufacturing semiconductors and providing services related to wireless technology, signed a lease for 93,517 square feet at Parmer 4.1. The company has also leased 71,933 square feet at Stonebridge Plaza II for the past decade and will continue to occupy that space as well.
Qualcomm, based out of San Diego, has 410 employees and 31 job openings in the Austin area, according to LinkedIn. Qualcomm will join VXI and Cognizant in the building.
Conclusion
As you can see, the Austin office market continues to attract top-tier tenants, especially when it comes to tech and professional services. We don’t know what 2023 will hold, but we have high hopes that this trend will continue.
