Pearlstone Partners is seeking equity partners for a $250 million condo project in downtown Austin, shedding light on the tough lending climate that’s hindered development across much of the nation.
The local firm, headed by CEO Robert Lee, needs outside capital to help fund construction of the Belvedere, a nearly 300,000-square-foot condo complex set to rise on a 3-acre tract at 300 Pressler Street, the Austin Business Journal reported.
Pearlstone recently secured funding for the first phase of the three-building project, which is slated for 247 units. Floor plans will span from roughly 700 square feet to 2,300 square feet, with prices ranging between the upper $700,000s to more than $2 million, the outlet said.
The development is set to include a restaurant and bar, coworking spaces, a fitness studio, pet lounge and a 135-foot pool. GDA Architects is the designer.
Separately, Pealstone’s 41-story condo tower in Austin’s Rainey Street District is expected to open this spring. The 275,600-square-foot project, called Vesper, will feature up to 283 units, ranging from $565,000 to over $2 million.
In 2022, the firm scored a $7.1 million loan to buy a 104,500-square-foot site, at 2500 Willow Hill Drive, southeast of downtown. Details of that project have not been revealed, although a rendering is posted on the company’s website.
In November, Pearlstone scrapped its plan for another condo tower at 14th and Lavaca Streets and is instead plotting a 35-story hotel. That downtown project, rising 399 feet on a 17,000-square-foot site, is slated for 280 rooms, multiple floors of parking capped by an observation deck and nearly 3,000 square foot ground-floor commercial space that could be used for a restaurant.
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Pearlstone has a $700 million portfolio and development pipeline, focusing primarily on multifamily, office and mixed-use projects. The firm’s strategy entails “meticulous” selection of sites in highly desirable parts of the city.
“We look at a lot of sites to narrow down to a very short list, and from that short list we normally only move forward with one or two sites per year,” Pearlstone’s Chris Zaiontz told the outlet “It’s got to be just right, especially for the condominium-asset type.”
—Quinn Donoghue
