Real estate investment firm World Class Capital Group LLC (WCCG) has acquired an aging retail center in Austin, Texas, known as “Slackerville,” and intends to replace it with a self-storage facility. Planning documents indicate the facility will be four stories, with one level below ground, according to the source. WCCG has asked to remove a heritage tree and up to eight “protected” trees on the property at 2209 S. First St.
The project will displace an eclectic mix of retailers including a record store and several boutique shops. Former owner Michael Poulson sold the property due in part to rising property taxes, he told the source. Taxes for the property this year are expected to be about $34,000, according to the Travis Central Appraisal District.
“They’ve hit just about every commercial property hard,” Poulson said. “They’ve been jumping the values up higher and higher. Fifty percent was just too much.”
The existing structure was built as a grocery store in 1946. Its property appraisal increased from $960,225 in 2014 to $1.5 million last year, but the aging building also required increasing repairs and maintenance, Poulson told the source. He had owned the property since 1979.
Most of the Slackerville tenants have indicated they will relocate. The structure is expected to be vacant by December, with construction likely to begin in February.
WCCG is a national real estate investment firm focused on acquiring, developing and managing real estate. Its portfolio includes investments in industrial, land, multi-family, office, retail and self-storage properties. The company is headquartered in Austin and has an office in New York City.
The company’s storage-management platform is branded as Great Value Storage, a privately owned self-storage company that operates 61 self-storage facilities in Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas.
Sources:
- Austin American-Statesman: South Austin ‘Slackerville’ Center Clearing Out for Storage Facility
