Barings Fully Leases 701 Rio Office Building in Austin, TX
Barings, one of the world’s leading investment management firms, along with its development partner B&Z Development, announced today that it has agreed to a full building lease at its new 124,000 square foot 701 Rio office building in downtown Austin, Texas.
701 Rio, located at the northeast corner of Rio Grande Street and West 7th Street, contains five stories of office space, five levels of subterranean parking, and sought after tenant amenities including a 4,300 square foot rooftop terrace with compelling downtown views, a fitness center, and secure bike and scooter storage. The location provides live-work-play opportunities within blocks of the asset including multiple hotels, single- and multi-family residential housing, retail stores, restaurants, bars, and public transportation. 701 Rio has achieved Austin Energy Green Building 1-Star certification. The project broke ground on January 8, 2020 and reached substantial completion on August 19, 2021.
“701 Rio illustrates Barings’ strategy of owning high-quality, amenity-rich office properties in major markets with growing STEM employment bases,” said Deb Schwartz, Managing Director and Portfolio Manager for Barings U.S. Real Estate. “Barings has a long and successful track record of investment in Austin, and we were pleased to partner with B&Z Development on this outstanding project.”
Rachel Coulter, Travis Rogers, and Kevin Kimbrough with JLL represented Barings on the lease transaction.
About Barings
Barings is a $391+ billion* global investment manager sourcing differentiated opportunities and building long-term portfolios across public and private fixed income, real estate, and specialist equity markets. With investment professionals based in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, the firm, a subsidiary of MassMutual, aims to serve its clients, communities and employees, and is committed to sustainable practices and responsible investment. Learn more at www.barings.com.
*Assets under management as of December 31, 2021
About B&Z Development
B&Z Development, formed in 2007, is the development firm of long time Austin real estate investors and developers Jason Berkowitz and Diana Zuniga. Berkowitz is the founder and CEO of RPM Living, a multifamily management, investment and development company, and Zuniga is the owner and president of Investors Alliance, Inc., a real estate firm she founded in 1996 specializing in investment property sales and acquisitions.
