St. Louis-based Sansone Group, which is already making a splash with a cold storage project in Hutto, broke ground May 14 on a nearly 1.4 million-square-foot industrial development just off of State Highway 130. The multiphase project is a partnership with Principal Asset Management, according to an announcement.
Austin Hills Commerce Center, as the project is known, will rise on about 134 acres at 11801 Decker Lake Road, a few miles north of Tesla Inc.’s gigafactory. The project will consist of six buildings constructed in three phases, said Nick Sansone, principal at Sansone Group.
The first phase, consisting of three buildings totaling 538,000 square feet, is expected to be complete in the second quarter of 2025. Phase two will be a single, 682,000-square-foot building expected to be complete as early as the third quarter of 2025, and the final phase will be two buildings totaling 132,000 square feet, with estimated completion in the first quarter of 2026.
Austin Hills Commerce Center will be able to accommodate tenants of all sizes, Sansone said, with space suitable both for manufacturing and distribution needs. Given its close proximity to Tesla’s mammoth factory and headquarters, he said the project is “absolutely” suitable for a Tesla supplier. And although none of the space is planned for cold storage, he also said a cold storage user could be accommodated.
Burton Construction is leading the design and build for Austin Hills. Stream Realty is handling leasing services.
Sansone Group is already active in the region. The firm has partnered with Titan Development Ltd. to develop a 210,000-square-foot building at Hutto’s Innovation Business Park. That project will have temperature capabilities of 40 degrees to negative 20 degrees, along with 50-foot freezer clear heights.
Sansone Group was drawn to Austin and Central Texas by the region’s population growth and “robust industrial market fundamentals,” Sansone said.
“Austin maintains its status as one of the nation’s leading growth markets, fueled by sustained demand in the industrial sector, particularly from suppliers serving companies such as Samsung and Tesla,” he said.
