Starwood Capital Group has completed its exit from the Austin office market, selling the last property in a four-building portfolio. The Florida-based investment firm sold Cielo Center, a three-building campus totaling 286,000 square feet at 1250 South Capital of Texas Highway in West Lake Hills, to a joint venture between Aquila Commercial and Serpa Partners. This transaction marks the end of Starwood’s nearly $200 million portfolio in Austin.
The Cielo Center was the final asset to be sold after Starwood disposed of its other Austin properties earlier this year: The Park on Barton Creek, Encino Trace, and The Crossings at Lakeline. While terms for the Cielo Center sale were not disclosed, local tax records assessed the property’s value at $35 million, or about $122 per square foot.
Aquila Managing Principal Chad Barrett confirmed the sale and noted that Cielo Center is currently 86 percent leased. For Serpa Partners, this acquisition represents its first investment. “The campus aligns with Serpa’s focus on ‘differentiated assets in growth markets,’ pointing to a hands-on repositioning strategy the joint venture plans to deploy,” said Serpa Managing Partner Michael Provost.
Renovations are planned for interior common areas and outdoor amenities. Aquila’s team—Barrett, Max McDonald, and Cody Schneider—will take over leasing responsibilities.
Cielo Center is located in Austin’s Southwest submarket near the South MoPac corridor. According to Aquila, vacancy rates there stood at 13.2 percent in the third quarter of this year, compared to 17.1 percent across the metro area. This relative stability has made it one of Austin’s stronger office locations during a period when many institutional investors are re-evaluating their holdings due to changes in work patterns and borrowing costs.
Other buyers of Starwood’s former Austin properties include BH Partners (The Park on Barton Creek), Cross Ocean and OakPoint (Encino Trace), and Continental General Holdings (The Crossings at Lakeline).
“‘The campus aligns with Serpa’s focus on “differentiated assets in growth markets,” pointing to a hands-on repositioning strategy the joint venture plans to deploy,’ Serpa Managing Partner Michael Provost told the outlet.”
