Joint venture equity and construction financing arranged for 227,200 SF shallow-bay industrial development in Texas

AUSTIN, Apr. 12, 2023 – JLL Capital Markets announced today that it has arranged the equity and debt placement for Hero Way West, a to-be-built, three building business park totalling 227,200 square feet of Class A, shallow-bay product located in the North Austin suburb of Leander, Texas.

JLL represented the developer, Freehill Development Company, in securing both the joint venture equity as well as the floating-rate construction loan for the project. 

Hero Way West will be designed to cater to small and regional businesses throughout Central Texas and provide best-in-class shallow-bay warehouse space for tenants as small as 8,000 square feet. Situated on 16.8 acres, the development will offer high visibility showroom space along Hero Way with dock-high rear loading, 28-foot clear heights and ample parking. A uniquely attractive combination, further evidenced by the project’s 24,500-square-foot prelease.

The project is located less than a half mile west of U.S. Hgwy. 183 in the heart of Leander, Texas, the fastest growing municipality within the Austin MSA over the last decade and the second fastest growing large city in America between 2020-2021 (U.S. Census). Additionally, the property is just 11.5 miles from Interstate 35 and the rapidly growing IH-35 Corridor, which stretches from Mexico to San Antonio-Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth and on to the Northern U.S.

The JLL Capital Markets team was led by Senior Director Charlie Strauss, Director Tom Weber, Senior Managing Director Trent Agnew and Director Josh Villarreal for the joint venture equity placement.  Managing Directors Michael Johnson and Chris McColpin led the JLL Capital Markets team for the placement of construction financing. 

“The Austin industrial market continues to attract interest from both capital and tenants who look to serve the growing population of Central Texas,” said Strauss. “Our team has thoroughly enjoyed working alongside Freehill on capitalizing their fourth development as they continue execute on their shallow-bay strategy that focuses on providing best-in-class space for tenants in high-growth markets.”

Johnson added that “it’s a testament to the strength of both the JLL team and the quality of sponsorship that we were able to accomplish a successful outcome despite the current challenges within the debt capital markets.”

“Freehill is excited to expand its North Austin industrial footprint,” said Will Paton, President of Freehill Development Company. “This capitalization speaks not only to the dynamic northwest submarket but also the economic resiliency of shallow-bay industrial in general.”

JLL Capital Markets is a full-service global provider of capital solutions for real estate investors and occupiers. The firm's in-depth local market and global investor knowledge delivers the best-in-class solutions for clients — whether investment and sales advisory, debt advisory, equity advisory or a recapitalization. The firm has more than 3,000 Capital Markets specialists worldwide with offices in nearly 50 countries.

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Freehill Development Company is based in Austin, TX and focuses on shallow bay industrial development throughout Central Texas. Freehill invests capital alongside its institutional and private equity partners to deliver best-in-class speculative and build-to-suit projects. Freehill leverages its principal’s combined 60-plus years of commercial real estate experience and track record with complex projects to deliver creative development solutions for every investment. Freehill is currently developing five shallow bay projects throughout Central Texas totalling over 1MMSF.