ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, has subleased 108,000 square feet from Indeed at the Domain Gateway office building in Austin. This move was confirmed by Steve Triolet, senior vice president of research at Partners Real Estate. The property, located at 2900 Esperanza Crossing, is owned by KBS and was listed by Savills.
This sublease marks an expansion for ByteDance in Austin. In early 2022, ByteDance leased 125,000 square feet at 300 Colorado Street downtown but later considered subleasing that space before deciding to renovate it instead. State filings indicate a $29 million renovation project for the downtown location is scheduled to finish in early 2025.
TikTok’s office moves come amid ongoing federal scrutiny of its operations in the United States. After an order from President Donald Trump required ByteDance to divest from TikTok during his first term, the Biden administration reversed that decision. Congress later passed legislation mandating a sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations by a set deadline. Following an extension granted by President Trump during his second term, a deal was reached in the fall for TikTok’s U.S. operations to be spun off to investors led by Oracle’s Larry Ellison.
Indeed has been seeking tenants for its large leasehold in Austin after acquiring nearly 800,000 square feet across three major buildings during the city’s tech boom between 2020 and 2023. Much of this space has remained on the sublease market since mid-2023 as demand shifted.
Despite these challenges, technology companies remain significant players in Austin’s office market. According to JLL’s fourth-quarter report, tech firms were responsible for the three largest leases recently signed and contributed to positive net absorption of 23,700 square feet during that period. VMware renewed nearly 135,000 square feet at River Place; TikTok’s new sublease at Domain Gateway was the second largest; and Nvidia renewed its lease for 79,000 square feet at The Crossing at Lakeline.
JLL also reports that technology companies represent about one-third of tenants pre-leasing space in upcoming developments.
