Kyle City Limits, one of the newest retail projects on tap for the city south of Austin, has secured two major tenants.
Spec’s Wine, Spirits & Finer Foods and AutoZone have signed on to be part of the 5.7-acre development, which broke ground Oct. 1. Spec's has already been assigned an address — 3933 Kyle Crossing, according to J.D. Sanford of John B. Sanford Real Estate, the project broker. The developer of Kyle City Limits is Joseph Phillips, who has owned the property since 1993.
“We were kind of bypassed for a long time,” Phillips said in a statement. “But now it’s our turn. This project represents more than 25,000 to 35,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space and will create at least 200 jobs. We’ve been part of this community for years, and I’m proud to see it finally taking shape.”
The project, which is located at the northwest corner of the I-35 and Kyle Crossing intersection, has three additional ground leases available, which could range from four to eight spaces, Sanford said. Tenants for the sites could include restaurants or bars, a gym, office space, medical offices, educational uses or smaller retail shops, Sanford said.
Spec’s could open by Thanksgiving next year, while AutoZone could open in eight to nine months, Sanford said. The AutoZone will be about 7,400 square feet, and the Spec’s will be about 12,000 square feet.
Historically, some retailers opening stores in Kyle have done so with smaller versions of their typical footprints, Sanford said. But he noted that the Spec's will be full-sized and constitute the biggest liquor store in Kyle.
He didn't disclose rent costs at Kyle City Limits. Retail rents in Kyle overall range from $24 per square foot for class C space up to $60 per square foot on the higher end, he said.
“The Kyle area, it’s a market that’s very in demand,” Sanford said. “We are rapidly growing, we have thousands of more residential units in the pipeline, and there’s not a lot to serve all the people coming in terms of retail space. It does make it very competitive.”
The city is located roughly 20 miles south of Austin has a population of nearly 66,000. Retail continues to be one of the most competitive market sectors in Austin and Central Texas. According to commercial real estate firm Partners’ second quarter market report, retail occupancy continued to hover at nearly 97%, and more entities are leasing space than are vacating it, with an absorption rate of 281,000 square feet in that period.