Nov 27
NewQuest Properties is ushering in a new wave of development at Townwest Commons in northeast Austin, with plans in the works to add 100,000 sf of entertainment, retail and restaurant space in 2024.
Construction will ramp up in the second quarter on a 53,500-sf EVO Entertainment Center, the newest anchor for the next phase of the 24.5-acre development. In the past 15 years, NewQuest has delivered roughly 250,000 sf at the junction of TX 79 and CR 119 in Hutto.
“Demand and interest picked up exponentially after Samsung announced plans to build a $17 billion semiconductor plant in nearby Taylor,” says Josh Friedlander, senior vice president and development partner for Houston-based NewQuest Properties.
Meanwhile, a 50,886-sf Academy Sports + Outdoors has opened in the development just in time for holiday shopping. It’s a sign of what’s to come in 2024.
“NewQuest rushed to make that happen for Academy Sports,” Friedlander says. “We’re focusing on filling in voids in the Hutto market and this national brand clearly was a missing component.”
NewQuest’s Q2 construction will include two retail structures, totaling 28,000 sf. One has been pre-leased to a national pet retailer and leading discount chain and the other will be filled with small shops. And if all goes as planned, Austin favorite Chuy’s will open in the fall on a 1.5-acre pad site in the development.
“Retail and restaurants need to catch up to the growth in the Hutto market,” Friedlander says.
Townwest Commons’ two-mile trade area has grown 47.85% since 2020 to a population of nearly 39,000 with an average annual income exceeding $131,000. Earlier this year, Money Magazine ranked Hutto in the Top 50 best Places to Live in the U.S. and one of the safest.
NewQuest’s neighborhood-essential center attracted one million visits in the past year, according to Placer.ai. When EVO Entertainment opens at year-end 2024, visits inevitably will climb exponentially.
EVO Entertainment will feature an 800-seart cinema, bowling lanes, restaurant and bar and arcade area. The Texas-bred chain has grown to 19 locations in five states since 2014 and more are on the way.
“Hutto is a tremendously underserved market by retailers and restauranteurs,” Friedlander adds.
“NewQuest is working diligently to change that.”
SOUTH TEXAS SALE
Blue Star Real Estate Investment LLC has acquired a 4,400-sf dry cleaners’ building on 0.57 acres at 13130 Louetta Rd., Cypress, from Drexel Morgan & Co. Dakota Workman of NewQuest Properties represented the seller. Thomas Turner of NewQuest Properties represented the buyer.
SOUTH TEXAS LEASE
Olive Garden has leased 7,805 sf of retail space in Mission Gateway, located at the intersection of E. Expressway 83 and S. Bryan Road, Mission, from NewQuest Properties. Josh Friedlander and David Meyers of NewQuest Properties represented the landlord. Jason Baker of Baker Katz represented the tenant.