Amid harrowing market conditions at the height of the Coronavirus pandemic, Hilco Real Estate, LLC (HRE) successfully completed bankruptcy sales on eight of ten tracts within the 173± acre prime interstate development, known as Longhorn Junction (BK Case #19-10883, HRE Retained 1/13/2020). The parcels sit along I-35, just north of Austin’s Central Business District in Georgetown, Texas.
Georgetown has become one of the nation’s top ten fastest-growing cities with a burgeoning population of over 76,000 residents, a 57% increase from 2010, attracted to the area by a combination of affordable housing, low taxes and proximity to major employers like Dell, Apple, Tesla and Samsung. Longhorn Junction is ideally located on the south side of Georgetown, bordered on the east by FM-1460, on the west by I-35 and on the north by SE Inner Loop, which recently had the Southwest Bypass completed. The Bypass provides easy access to prime retail and area attractions, including Round Rock Premium Outlets, Kalahari Resort waterpark and Dell Diamond sports stadium. Austin is also home to several major headquarters as well as four universities, all of which contribute to its growing popularity.
The development suffered numerous setbacks throughout the bankruptcy process; including COVID-19, the filing of a second Chapter 11 Petition, the strict calendar milestones set within the court-approved bankruptcy plan as well as the need for expert witness and testimony throughout the bankruptcy. Despite these various challenges, HRE exceeded expectations through its implementation of an effective, customized sales solution, its deep understanding of bankruptcy and its national outreach to knowledgeable, sophisticated buyers.
HRE aggressively marketed the properties nationally throughout the pandemic, resulting in 35 offers and closing over $35,000,000 to date.
Jeff Azuse, senior vice president at HRE, stated, “This sale perfectly illustrates the strength of the Hilco Real Estate platform. This property had the unfortunate stigma of languishing on the market for some time with little activity. Combine this historic perception with two bankruptcies and a global pandemic and most would have thrown their hands up and walked away. Instead, HRE rolled up their sleeves and got to work. Our national marketing campaign reached buyers from coast to coast, as well as groups in Canada, Mexico and beyond. So, when developer confidence started to come back, we were well positioned to leverage the recent upswing in the Austin market.”
“By mid-2022, site preparation will begin on several of the recently closed tracts,” said Steve Madura, senior vice president at HRE. “Uses include a nationally-recognized charter school, regional brewery with restaurant and music venue, state-of-the-art auto repair facility, hotel, travel center and approximately 1,000,000 square feet of Class-A industrial/logistics buildings.” Madura continued, “In the next few years, we estimate this development to bring over 1,000 quality jobs to the City of Georgetown.”
In light of these extraordinary efforts, HRE has been awarded three additional sales and advisory assignments from this client.
To learn more about the services HRE offers or for advisory service for any ongoing bankruptcy, please visit Hilco Real Estate, LLC or call (855) 755-2300.
About Hilco Real EstateHilco Real Estate (“HRE”), a Hilco Global company (HilcoGlobal.com), is headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois (USA). HRE is a national provider of strategic real estate disposition services. Acting as an agent or principal, HRE uses its experience to advise and execute strategies to assist clients in deriving the maximum value from their real estate assets. By leveraging multi-faceted sales strategies & techniques, aggressive repositioning and restructuring experience, a vast and motivated network of buyers and sellers, and substantial access to capital, HRE exceeds expectations even in the most complex transactions.
