The Domain is a high-density office, retail, and residential center owned and operated by Endeavor Real Estate Group, TIER REIT, Inc. and Simon Property Group, and is located in the high-tech corridor of northwest Austin, Texas, United States. It is bordered on the west by Union Pacific Railroad, on the west and north by Loop 1, on the south by Braker Lane, and on the east by Burnet Road. The initial phase of the project was completed in March 2007.
Initial development
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The 303 acres (123Â ha) property for what would eventually become The Domain was purchased from IBM by the Endeavor Real Estate Group in 1999 and from Multech, with the financial assistance of the Blackstone Group and JER Partners. The initial plan had been to create a campus for the dot-com industry but those plans fell through when the dot-com bubble burst.
In 2003, the Simon Property Group and the Endeavor Real Estate Group entered into a collaborative partnership to develop Phase I of The Domain's retail area. 2004 saw the demolition of Century Oaks Park, a multi-purpose recreational facility for IBM employees and their families, and the start of construction on the initial 57 acres (23Â ha) Domain: Phase I.
Additional land for The Domain was reclaimed from vacant IBM manufacturing and administrative buildings, as well as driveways and parking lots that were once part of the original IBM campus.
The developers were granted tax subsidies in 2003 from the City of Austin and Travis County. Total developer compensation is a maximum of a net present value of $25 million. The developer keeps 80 percent of the city's sales tax for the first five years and 50 percent for the next 15 years. Plus, 25 percent of the property tax is rebated back to the developer for the entire 20-year period. The city of Austin expects to take in about $40 million in sales and property taxes over the 20 years of the incentive agreement.
First phase
The first phase of the project, The Domain, opened on March 9, 2007, and includes 700,000 square feet (65,000 m2) of restaurants, office space, upscale retail stores, apartments, and a hotel. The retail portion of the project has attracted many retailers and restaurants new to the Austin market. An 80,000 sq ft (7,400 m2). Neiman Marcus and a Macy's anchor (with Macy's fulfilling an earlier commitment by Foley's), along with 70 specialty stores, including an Apple Store, a Barneys New York CO-OP store, Burberry, Victoria's Secret, Tiffany & Co., BCBG Max Azria, Calypso Christiane Celle, Anne Fontaine, Lacoste, Lilly Pulitzer, Betty Sport, and a Microsoft store. The shopping center notably is also one of the short list of locations containing outlets for two new store concepts â€" Abercrombie & Fitch Co.'s RUEHL 925, targeting affluent young professionals, and American Eagle Outfitters' adventure-oriented Martin + Osa. Both of those stores had closed as of late 2010, and have become locations for Anthropologie (in the former Ruehl location), and Lids (in the former Martin + Osa location). Restaurants include McCormick & Schmick's, Fleming's, Daily Grill, Jasper's, Kona Grill,The Steeping Room, and California Pizza Kitchen.
Second phase and additional expansion
After the Simon Property Group acquired the 45 acres (18Â ha) property that would become The Domain II (Domain Crossing) they bought Endeavor's portion of The Domain I. This second phase, located directly south of The Domain, opened in the spring of 2008.
Domain Crossing added an additional 350,000 square feet (33,000Â m2) of retail stores, restaurants, and apartments, as well as a theater - Gold Class Cinema - and other entertainment options.
Simon Property Group announced that a 200,000 sq ft (19,000 m2), three-story Dillard's would open during spring 2009 in the primary portion of the project. Nordstrom signed a letter of intent for a two-story, 149,000-square-foot (13,800 m2) store to open in The Domain's phase III. Saks Fifth Avenue also signed a letter of intent for Phase III.
Whole Foods opened a 55,000 square feet (5,100Â m2) square foot location in The Domain in January 2014.
Simon Property Group opened up a "great lawn venue" in Phase 2 that hosts live bands from 6 to 9pm on weekends, and food trucks.
Third phase
The Domain's third phase consists of 1.4 million square feet of retail, residential and hotel space. Included in this space is Endeavor's final retail phase in The Domain, including Domain NORTHSIDE and Rock Rose, a district mostly populated by local businesses. Some specific tenants include CB2, AT&T, Nordstrom, Restoration Hardware, Archer Hotel Austin, Salvation Pizza, The Dogwood, Sainte Genevieve, Viva Day Spa, East Side King, Lavaca Street Bar, Kung Fu Saloon and Birds Barbershop. Phase 3 will bring the total number of residential units to over 3,000 units, with the ultimate goal to bring the total number to 5,000.
Dallas-based TIER REIT, Inc. (NYSE: TIER) owns and operates the majority of the office space offered at The Domain, including Domain 2 (115,000 square feet), Domain 3 (179,000 square feet), Domain 4 (153,000 square feet), Domain 7 (222,000 square feet) and a 50% interest in Domain 8 (291,000 square feet), which was delivered in 1Q'2017 at 98% leased. In addition, TIER REIT owns over 18 acres of fully entitled land at The Domain that can accommodate an additional 1.3 million square feet of future office space. On June 23, 2017, TIER REIT announced that it was commencing development on Domain 11, a 16-story Class A office development that will offer a new level of amenities, quality and prestige. The landmark tower within Austin’s “second downtown†is 98% pre-leased to HomeAway®, the Austin-based world leader in vacation rentals and part of the Expedia, Inc. family of brands. Construction is scheduled to begin shortly, with a late-2018 targeted delivery date. The building will encompass approximately 324,000 square feet. Austin-based Endeavor Real Estate Group owns the Domain 1 and Domain 5 office buildings.
On March 8, 2018 Precourt Sports Ventures announced the Domain area would be their focus for a potential Major League Soccer Stadium. The Domain provides the atmosphere and culture that Major League Soccer strives to be around with it’s stadiums, i.e. vibrant downtown atmospheres where people work, live, and play. Should the Columbus Crew ultimately move to Austin, TX their new stadium would be open for the 2021 season.
Opposition
Brian Rodgers, leader of Stop Domain Subsidies, sued the City of Austin and Endeavor Real Estate Group in 2004, claiming Endeavor purposely misled the city in order to receive what he argued amounted to $65 million in tax subsidies. The suit was settled out of court, with the settlement allowing the City of Austin to back out of deal with no penalties. Eventually, the local newspaper verified that the original claim that the subsidy was only $25 million was false and that, according to their figures, it could amount to $57 million.
Stop Domain Subsidies launched a petition drive in 2007 to put an initiative on the city ballot to stop the city from granting any city tax subsidies for developments with retail uses. The charter amendment, which would have prevented the city from giving tax incentives to retail projects, appeared on the ballot for the November 2008 election as Proposition 2, but was ultimately defeated by a margin of 4%.
In the run-up to the election, on September 2008, a political action committee named Keep Austin's Word was started by Betty Dunkerley, a former member of the Austin City Council. The group, named to resemble the slogan "Keep Austin Weird", was primarily funded by the developers of The Domain, including Simon Properties, the largest mall developer in the United States. Rodgers, together with independent political activist, Linda Curtis, went on to found ChangeAustin.org, which is continuing efforts to organize a political voice for local Austin businesses and reform-minded voters.
Major stores
Current
- AT&T (opened October 2016)
- Dillard's (opened 2009)
- Macy's (opened 2007)
- Neiman Marcus (opened 2007)
- Nordstrom (opened September 2016)
Former stores
As part of their Chapter 11 proceedings, Borders Group closed their bookstore at The Domain in April 2011. Martin+Osa, Ruehl No. 925, Oakville Grocery, Sony Style, Orange Cup and bettysport all operated locations at the Domain at one time.
References
External links
- The Domain official site
- Urban - An American Grill
- Simon Property Group: The Domain
- North Burnet Planning Area Map (PDF)
- Stop Domain Subsidies