The perfect balance: Austin's One Congress Plaza is a bustling city center emitting Southern charm

Journal of Property Management, Nov-Dec, 2006 by Diana Mirel

In a city known for its down-home, yet cosmopolitan personality, it is no surprise one of Austin, Texas' most famous buildings is both a bustling corporate center and a laidback community gathering spot.

One Congress Plaza, located in the heart of downtown Austin and sitting on an entire city block, captures the essence of the city with its unique stair-step design and bold neon blue lights around its perimeter. Its dramatic views of Hill Country, downtown, the capitol building and Town Lake expose Austin's different terrains, and bring the city's high-tech, but low-key vibe to the surface.

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Built in 1987, One Congress Plaza has strong roots in Austin's history. It is a cast-in-place concrete building, skinned in sunset red granite--the same granite used to construct the state capitol 100 years ago.

The building's height also pays homage to the state capitol. Standing 30 stories high, views of the capitol building are spectacular. A government code restricting how tall buildings can be in certain areas of downtown protects views of the capitol in several corridors of the city. One Congress Plaza was built with these restrictions, and its views are thereby protected, said Andrew Smith, managing partner of Equity Office in Austin, which manages the building.

A fixture in the skyline itself, One Congress Plaza attracts many national firms like Wells Fargo Bank, Merrill Lynch, Oracle and KPMG. Currently, the building is 88 percent occupied--four to six points higher than the market--and has 36 tenants. Prospective tenants are drawn to the building's views, prime location and its wide variety of floor plans--thanks to its unique hexagon design.

"It is a very popular building and we have always had strong activity," Smith said.

Along with 517,800 square feet of office space, the property also houses a fitness center, deli, bank and hair salon. Additionally, the building serves as a gathering spot for downtown Austin denizens. The building's one-acre sunken plaza, which rests below street level, acts as a public park within the bustling city. "When you go into the plaza you would never really know you were in the heart of downtown because of the way it's been excavated below street level to allow for a real park-like setting," Smith said.

This area is landscaped with greenery, tall oak trees, benches and a 400-foot long by 25-foot high waterfall fountain. The building's tenants often use the plaza for corporate functions, and the public can book the plaza for special events.

Smith said strong customer relationships with tenants is the key to Equity Office's property management success. They host quarterly tenant advisory board luncheons for a random sample of its tenants to discuss any issues tenants may have.

"The more we understand their business, their needs and what they are trying to accomplish," Smith said, "the more it allows us to partner with them on how we can help meet their needs from an office-space perspective."

Equity office does not have its management personnel on-site at the One Congress Plaza building. Smith said the company prefers a more decentralized approach. "We are all in the office together," Smith said, "So our managers can share ideas and it's more of a team approach."

Diana Mirel is a contributing writer for JPM. Questions regarding this article can be sent to kgunderson@irem.org.