Endeavor Real Estate Group LLC is developing IBM's original Northwest Austin research site into The Domain, a 234-acre campus totalling over 2,000,000 sf. Purchased in December of 1999, plans for the campus included a conglomerate of office and retail facilities, manufacturing and distribution space, and possibly multi-family residential development. Located in an Austin high tech corridor, features such as high speed Internet access, telecommunication, enhanced utilities and redundant power make The Domain attractive to tenants. An onsite energy substation, in addition to the onsite central utility plant, supplies dedicated power. Building 5, a two-story, 192,000-sf industrial shell, was renovated from a windowless cor-ten (rusted metal) exterior to a distinctive building featuring exposed stainless steel beams, first-floor skylights, scored concrete floors, and six-foot wide corridors. Construction, which began in January 2001, began by removing the exterior and demolishing the interior of the manufacturing complex to creating a multi-tenant Class A office building. Setting the design tone for the rest of the complex, Building Five is one of Austin's first loft-style office buildings and is landscaped with native plants and grasses.
