Amazon.com Inc. is growing in Austin’s second downtown.
The company announced Dec. 21 plans to create 2,000 new jobs as part of an expanded hub at The Domain. To accommodate the new employees, Amazon has leased all 330,000 square feet of Domain 9, which is being developed by Cousins Properties Inc.
The space will house roles in operations technology, retail, business and Amazon Web Services, according to the announcement.
It adds to an already significant presence for Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) at The Domain and Domain Northside. The company occupies part of the Domain 8 office tower and has leased most of the Domain 10 high-rise.
Amazon said it already has more than 3,000 tech and corporate employees working at what it calls its Austin Tech Hub. It said the Domain 9 lease complements “three existing locations in Austin at The Domain.” In addition to Domain 8 and Domain 10, ABJ reported in October that Amazon had taken over 114,000 square feet of office space in Domain 2 in a sublease deal from Vrbo.
“Our continued investment in Austin is a testament to the amazing talent and amenities that this city has to offer,” said Doug Gray, site lead for Amazon’s Austin Tech Hub, in a statement. “With more than 3,000 jobs already created and more than 1,000 corporate and technology roles currently available, we’re looking forward to continue offering exciting career opportunities to local residents.”
Amazon is expected to move into the building in phases beginning in early 2024, according to an announcement from Cousins.
“With the addition of this new development, our 2.5 million square foot Domain portfolio is 99.7% leased,” said Colin Connolly, president and CEO of Cousins Properties, in a statement. “We have additional sites that can accommodate at least another 1.5 million square feet of new development in the Domain submarket. Our team has been working diligently on plans for Domain Central, situated in the core of the submarket, which will be a multi-phased project and the next step of our growth in the Domain.”
Cousins announced earlier this year that construction would start on Domain 9 sometime in the second quarter. Domain 9 is at the south of a cluster of towers that have risen at Domain Northside in recent years. Other big tech employers like Vrbo and Facebook Inc. have leased up space within those high-rises.
Amazon has also been building out its fulfillment network in Central Texas, scooping up tons of space for warehouses and distribution facilities. It opened a 3.8-million-square-foot fulfillment center in Pflugerville in October.
The e-commerce powerhouse is already one of the five largest private-sector employers in the Austin area, even before this latest announcement, according to the most recent Austin Business Journal data.
Since 2010, the company has created more than 70,000 full-time and part-time jobs in Texas, where it has invested more than $29 billion, according to its Dec. 21 announcement.
Amazon has a market cap of roughly $1.69 trillion as of Dec. 21, according to Google Finance.
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