Parkway Properties Brings ELM Restaurant Group to the Table for Fareground
AUSTIN, Texas (PRWEB) February 18, 2016 -- Today, Parkway Properties, Inc. (NYSE: PKY) is excited to announce that ELM Restaurant Group is joining Fareground at One Eleven Congress as the Operator of Dining Concepts, managing the co-op of restaurants that will be featured within the project’s interior marketplace. CBRE and Parkway Properties worked together to bring ELM into the Fareground team. They join dwg. and Michael Hsu Office of Architecture in the revitalization of the urban plaza and interior lobby of One Congress Plaza into a modern, inviting, and active downtown hub. As the Operator of Dining Concepts, ELM will be responsible for cultivating restaurant concepts from Austin’s best chefs, restaurateurs, and culinary experts. While talks are already underway with major players in the local restaurant scene enthusiastic to partner, at this early stage ELM can only reveal that hotspot Easy Tiger Bake Shop & Beer Garden is their selected concept to contribute to the project.
“We are thrilled to have our first choice in concept operators joining the team for Fareground,” said Mike Fransen, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Parkway. “ELM is a leading operator in Austin, and their innovative portfolio and access to other great local food concepts, will enhance the entire project, and activate the concept and design that dwg. and Hsu’s office have spearheaded for Fareground. ELM’s track record and their place in the Austin restaurant scene make them the best fit for the project, and we believe this partnership and collaboration will make Fareground a truly unparalleled gathering space in downtown Austin.”
Fareground’s upscale eatery hall will include six dining concepts housed in the building’s new lobby, as well as one street-level concept at the corner of Congress Avenue and 2nd Street. This larger concept will serve as a grab-and-go style eatery that will feature curated food and drink selections from each of the six dining establishments – such as special cocktails, curated wine lists, or ready-made culinary items.
In addition to Easy Tiger Bake Shop & Beer Garden – which will serve pastries and coffee, as well as some of their beloved bake shop favorites – the other vendors within Fareground are expected to be diverse, yet distinctly Austin. Each of the vendors will be located around a central seating area, with additional seating in the park space outside. Visitors to Faregound will be able to select their individual culinary experience, while enjoying community dining in a casual, yet sophisticated atmosphere.
“With the wealth of talent available in Austin, we have an opportunity with Fareground to create and foster the type of experience that captures the soul of our town,” said Bob Gillett, a founding partner of ELM Restaurant Group. “We want to curate concepts from the brightest culinary minds in our city, creating a microcosm of the restaurant scene in one stop, right in the heart of downtown Austin.”
Outside of its involvement in Fareground, ELM Restaurant Group is responsible for several award-winning restaurants in addition to the much-lauded Easy Tiger Bake Shop & Beer Garden. These concepts, all headed by ELM's executive chef Andrew Curren and centrally located in downtown Austin, include 24 Diner, a 24-hour urban restaurant offering chef-driven comfort food, local and organic fare, and Italic, an approachable rustic Italian eatery. Irene's, a casual New American restaurant and dive bar, as well as a North Austin outpost of Easy Tiger are slated to open later in the year. Between their concepts, ELM has been showcased on the Cooking Channel and Food Network, recognized on “Best Of” lists from multiple national publications including Food & Wine, Bon Appétit, and Details magazines, and featured in Garden & Gun, The New York Times, Wallpaper*, USA Today, Condé Nast Traveler, Southern Living, GQ, Texas Monthly, and many more.
The restaurant activations within Fareground will complement and speak to the overall ambiance of the project, designed by dwg. and Michael Hsu Office of Architecture. Once complete, Fareground will be an inside-outside, eat-drink, work-play, early to rise, late to close hub within walking distance from Congress Avenue and 2nd Street. Both the indoor and outdoor space will be updated into a downtown destination, with accessible dining, coffee and happy hour options, and a sustainably-designed outdoor park space that can be used for relaxing, eating, informal gatherings.
To stay up-to-date about Fareground at One Eleven Congress, visit FaregroundAustin.com to learn more about the project.
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ABOUT PARKWAY PROPERTIES
Parkway Properties, Inc. is a fully integrated, self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust specializing in the acquisition, ownership, development and management of quality office properties in higher growth submarkets in the Sunbelt region of the United States. Parkway owns or has an interest in 36 office properties located in six states with an aggregate of approximately 14.3 million square feet of leasable space at January 1, 2016. Fee-based real estate services are offered through wholly owned subsidiaries of the Company, which in total manage and/or lease approximately 2.7 million square feet for third-party owners at January 1, 2016.
ABOUT ELM RESTAURANT GROUP
ELM Restaurant Group is dedicated to creating valuable restaurant properties that excel in culinary technique, achieve high levels of service and maximize stakeholder value through optimal financial performance and aggressive brand equity strategies. Entrepreneurs Bob Gillett and Scott Hentschel formally created ELM in 2009 after collaborating on multiple local restaurant and bar projects over the course of the previous decade. The purpose of ELM was to bring together committed and experience restaurateurs with different areas of expertise to open and maintain unique concepts. Chef Andrew Curren and financial expert Vincent Ashwill were recruited to complete the group.
ABOUT dwg.
dwg. is a different landscape architecture firm that is passionate about design, attention to detail and collaboration. The firm is recognized nationally for modern concepts, meaningful relationships and transparent communication. dwg.'s efforts are directed at projects in central business districts and adjacent corridors, resulting in a focused knowledge in all aspects of urban design. The firm leads in sustainable and low-impact development and collaborates closely with expert design teams and city staff to successfully implement project visions. dwg. has the leadership, experience and expertise to provide innovative design solutions for the urban architectural landscape.
ABOUT MICHAEL HSU OFFICE OF ARCHITECTURE
Michael Hsu Office of Architecture was formed in 2005 with the goal of producing locally-engaged, design driven architecture and interiors in Austin. Through the active collaboration between designer, client, consultant, and craftsman, MHOA embraces the challenges of site and budget to inspire highly creative, cost-effective solutions. With diverse projects ranging from mixed-use developments to original commercial interiors and residences, MHOA advocates a simple, edited design palette, using available materials and techniques to produce work that is functional, engaging and honest.
ABOUT FAREGROUND
Fareground at One Eleven Congress is a reimagining of the plaza and lobby space at One Congress Plaza, the iconic blue-lighted stair-step building at the corner of 2nd Street and Congress Avenue. Part park and part marketplace, Fareground will transform the urban plaza and interior lobby of One Congress Plaza into a modern, inviting and active downtown hub for professionals, residents and visitors of Austin. Both the indoor and outdoor space will be updated into a downtown destination, with accessible dining, coffee and happy hour options, and a sustainably-designed outdoor space that can be used for relaxing, eating and informal gatherings. Construction began in fall 2015 with scheduled completion in spring 2017.
Links:
http://www.FaregroundAustin.com
Forward Looking Statements:
Certain statements in this press release that are not in the present or past tense or that discuss the Company's expectations (including any use of the words "anticipate," "assume," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "guidance," "intend," "may," "might," "outlook," "plan," "potential," "project," "should," "will" or similar expressions) are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws and as such are based upon the Company's current beliefs as to the outcome and timing of future events. There can be no assurance that actual future developments affecting the Company will be those anticipated by the Company. An example of a forward-looking statement is the timing of commencement and completion of construction projects. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties (some of which are beyond the control of the Company) and are subject to change based upon various factors including, but not limited to, the following risks and uncertainties: changes in the real estate industry and in performance of the financial markets; the actual or perceived impact of U.S. monetary policy; competition in the leasing market; the demand for and market acceptance of the Company's properties for rental purposes; oversupply of office properties in the Company's geographic markets; the amount and growth of the Company's expenses; customer financial difficulties and general economic conditions, including increasing interest rates, as well as economic conditions in the Company's geographic markets; defaults or non-renewal of leases; risks associated with joint venture partners; risks associated with the ownership and development of real property, including risks related to natural disasters; risks associated with property acquisitions; the failure to acquire or sell properties as and when anticipated; termination or non-renewal of property management contracts; the bankruptcy or insolvency of companies for which the Company provides property management services or the sale of these properties; the outcome of claims and litigation involving or affecting the Company; the ability to satisfy conditions necessary to close pending transactions and the ability to successfully integrate businesses compliance with environmental and other regulations, including real estate and zoning laws; the Company's inability to obtain financing; the Company's inability to use net operating loss carry forwards; the Company's failure to maintain its status as a real estate investment trust, or REIT, under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended; and other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC filings. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties occur, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, the Company's business, financial condition, liquidity, cash flows and financial results could differ materially from those expressed in the Company's forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made. New risks and uncertainties arise over time, and it is not possible for us to predict the occurrence of those matters or the manner in which they may affect us. The Company does not undertake to update forward-looking statements except as may be required by law.
Casey Miller, Lookthinkmake, LLC, http://lookthinkmake.com, +1 (512) 402-6854, [email protected]
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