Another downtown Austin office tower has quietly changed hands, and this time the new owner is a mystery local. A private Austin-based investor has bought the mid-rise office building at 823 Congress Avenue, a prominent address on the city’s main drag just three blocks south of the Texas Capitol. The deal shifts control of a property that mixes street-level retail with multiple office suites, and it lands the tower with a hometown owner at a moment when investors are still combing the market for office buildings they can reposition.
Sale reported by CoStar
According to CoStar, the buyer is identified only as "a private, Austin, Texas-based real estate investment and development firm." CoStar’s public write-up, which is a summary of a subscriber-only item, does not reveal the sale price or any financing details. The brief notice is the first widely indexed sign that 823 Congress has traded again following its 2022 change in ownership.
What the building is
The tower sits at the southeast corner of Congress Avenue and East 9th Street and dates back to the 1970s. Earlier sale materials and property records put the building at roughly 190,000 square feet of combined office and street-level retail space. A Newmark press release related to the 2022 transaction cited an approximate total of 190,254 square feet and noted that the prior owner had invested about $15 million into upgrades to the lobby, common areas and amenities. Current commercial listings show multiple suites still being marketed for lease and highlight the attached parking structure at 900 Brazos Street, with the listings providing more detail on available space and features.
Ownership history
The property’s recent history features a familiar cast of institutional players. It was previously owned by Brickman, then later by a joint venture associated with DRA Advisors and Pillar Commercial, which acquired the asset in 2022. DRA Advisors lists 823 Congress among its prior acquisitions, and Brickman’s materials on the property describe the repositioning work that set the stage for that sale. At the time, the 2022 shift in ownership was framed as a strategy play aimed at luring smaller, full-floor tenants that want walkable access to Congress Avenue’s core.
Why investors are watching
Even with elevated vacancy downtown, buyers continue to circle central Austin, looking for well-located buildings that can be upgraded or repurposed. The Colliers Austin office report for the fourth quarter of 2025 pegged overall vacancy in the low to mid 20 percent range, while also pointing to strong asking rents for top-tier space. Recent coverage of downtown listings has highlighted brokers bringing older mid-rise towers to market with an eye toward repositioning or adaptive reuse as investors search for value plays in the central business district.
Buyer identity and price
So far, the new owner is staying in the background. CoStar’s public summary does not name the buyer or disclose the purchase price, and the full story is available only to the outlet’s subscribers. With few transaction details in the wild, it is not yet known whether the new owner will pursue another upgrade campaign, focus primarily on re-leasing, or test alternative uses for portions of the building. For now, local tenants and brokers are waiting to see if the buyer steps forward with a public game plan.
The handoff of 823 Congress to a local private investor underscores that downtown Austin’s office market is still very much in play for buyers willing to rework older assets for tenants seeking smaller, walkable floorplates. With listings showing remaining vacancies in the building, any fresh repositioning effort by the new owner could shift the calculus for small and mid-sized tenants looking at the core. Public records and any future owner statements should fill in the blanks on price, strategy and timing as those details surface.
