Job search platform Indeed has secured a subtenant for part of its lease at the Domain Gateway office building in Austin, after more than two years of searching. ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok based in Beijing, subleased 108,000 square feet from Indeed during the fourth quarter, according to Steve Triolet, senior vice president of research at Partners Real Estate. The property at 2900 Esperanza Crossing is owned by California-based KBS and was listed by Savills.
This move signals an expansion for ByteDance in Austin. In early 2022, ByteDance leased 125,000 square feet at 300 Colorado Street downtown but initially put that space on the sublease market before deciding to keep it. State filings indicate that ByteDance shifted plans and began a $29 million renovation project there, expected to be completed in early 2025.
The change in TikTok’s office footprint has taken place as U.S. lawmakers have debated restrictions on the social media platform. “After President Donald Trump ordered ByteDance to divest from the app in his first term, the Biden administration reversed the order. Then Congress passed a law that set a deadline for ByteDance to sell the app. Trump started his second term with an extension; the parties reached a deal in the fall to spin off the app’s U.S. operations to a group controlled by investors, including Larry Ellison’s Oracle.”
Indeed has been affected by fluctuations in Austin’s tech sector between 2020 and 2023 and holds nearly 800,000 square feet across three prominent buildings. Large portions have remained available for sublease since mid-2023.
Despite these challenges, technology companies are projected to remain influential within Austin’s office market throughout 2026. According to JLL’s fourth-quarter report, tech firms were responsible for signing the three largest leases last quarter: VMware renewed nearly 135,000 square feet at River Place; TikTok’s Domain Gateway sublease was second largest; Nvidia renewed its lease for 79,000 square feet at The Crossing at Lakeline.
JLL also reported that technology companies represent about one-third of tenants pre-leasing space in upcoming projects across Austin.
