Philadelphia-based Brandywine Realty Trust has completed the sale of two Southwest Austin properties to the city of Austin. The sale follows the Austin City Council’s October decision to buy the office campus for redevelopment as headquarters for the city’s public safety agencies.
One and Two Barton Skyway, the four-story buildings at 1501 and 1601 South MoPac Expressway, total about 386,000 square feet, or roughly 195,000 square feet each. Both have 50,000-square-foot floorplates. The campus abuts Zilker Park and includes two five-level parking garages, each with more than 780 parking spaces. Brandywine sold the assets for $107.6 million, or $275 per square foot.
The city will renovate the two buildings, completed in 1999 and 2000, to serve as consolidated public safety headquarters for Austin Police, Austin Fire and the Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services, currently scattered across the city. The city expects to spend an additional $3 million on renovations and $9 million on design services.
This new location will generate significant cost savings and increased efficiencies, said Mayor Kirk Watson in prepared remarks. Building a new comparable facility would have cost approximately $234 million, or $600 per square foot, more than double the price of buying the existing assets, according to the city.
The Barton Skyway office park, situated on 35 acres, comprises four buildings. Brandywine still owns Four Barton Skyway, which is currently 94 percent leased.
