In ordering the information lock-down, Crescent won't even say if the partnership stake was marketed. Local sources, however, say it wasn't or else they'd have bid on it because it's not likely to stay empty for long.

Parkway at Oak Hill's neighbors--the 37,800-sf Travis Oaks at 4635 Boston Lane and 77,500-sf twins, Lantana I and II at 7500 Rialto Blvd.--are fully leased. The 164,000-sf Overwatch Building at 5301 Southwest Pkwy. is under construction, but only its top floor, 40,000 sf, is available--and that's on a sublease basis. The Parkway at Oak Hill, positioned one mile from Mopac Expressway, has direct access to Southwest Parkway and US Hwy. 290 West and sits close to more than three million sf of retail and restaurant space.

In a first-quarter report, Oxford Commercial's research team of Ryan Kasten and Matt Levin calculated that the southwest submarket's absorption fell into the red unlike Q4 2006 when it posted 146,977 sf of positive gain. Still, Q1 rents rose 1.2% or 30 cents per sf. Class A rents range from $15.50 per sf to $32.50 per sf, with the average factoring out to $27.49 per sf. The class A inventory of 4.94 million sf has a 5.2% direct vacancy and negligible sublease space of 25,878 sf.

In selling its stake in CC Parkway Austin LP, Crescent isn't saying if its original intent was a merchant build play. "That's always an option," the REIT's spokesman acknowledged to GlobeSt.com. "We are always evaluating what's going on in the market, but it's not a foregone conclusion before we start."

Crescent's official line hints that more such maneuvers could be in the works down the road. "I am pleased to once again demonstrate our strength and expertise as an office developer," John C. Goff, the REIT's vice chairman and CEO, says in the release. "Crescent's proven development platform continues to deliver value to our shareholders and is an important aspect of our business going-forward."