Houston developer Lovett Industrial expands into Austin with Fusion 130 near Tesla

A Houston-based industrial real estate developer is moving into Austin in a big way.

Lovett Industrial is planning a project that will add 1.5 million square of industrial space in nine buildings on Texas 130 in Austin. The new industrial park will be called Fusion 130.

Lovett describes the project as being "strategically located" 2 miles north of the Tesla Inc. factory that opened in 2022.

Lovett hasn’t yet filed plans for the project with the state, but Nathan Benjaminov, the company’s market leader for Central and South Texas, said groundbreaking is expected late this year.

It’s a joint venture between Lovett and Clarion Partners, a New York-based real estate investment firm that does business in the U.S. and Europe.

It’s not Lovett’s only move into the region.

The company is also planning a $30 million project to build a 43-acre logistics center in Schertz, according to a series of filings with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. It would include 608,000 square feet of space in four buildings. The project is set to break ground in October with an expected completion date of December 2026.

Benjaminov said the projects are not related, but declined to answer other questions. He said more information about both projects will be released soon.

The Austin and Schertz projects will be Lovett’s first in Central Texas.

The company was founded in February 2020 and most of its projects are logistics or industrial parks. Lovett is particularly active in Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston, with more than 13 million square feet of space completed, under construction or acquired in those two areas.