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Texas, California, and Florida are leading in the population rise of the Southern and Western states that account for “more than 80 percent of new residents nationwide over the last three years.” California remains the most populous state with 38,332,521 residents, and Texas has held its number two spot with 26,448,193 residents. New York came in third with 19,651,127, however Florida is expected to surpass the Big Apple because its population is growing three times faster and it is less than 100,000 residents behind.

State officials are closely monitoring these numbers because population estimates determine the funding of various federal programs as well as the number of seats that each state holds in the House of Representatives. Texas has the potential to gain 3 congressional seats if the population continues to rise as it has in the last 3 years. Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, and Colorado would each gain one seat which would result in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, West Virginia and Rhode Island losing one. The political clout of a state is largely determined by the “demographic contest”, so as long as population increases follow the recent trend, the spotlight will remain on the southwest.

Source: “Population rising faster in South and West, census data show” by Michael A. Memoli, Los Angeles Times

Austin is in the spotlight for San Francisco real estate companies with a special interest in the tech industry. Drawbridge Realty Trust recently purchased StoneCreek Park, which is located on Duval Road, for $16.9 million. It is a “76,910 square-foot Class A office building with a life sciences bent.” This is not the company’s first purchase in the Austin area. Drawbridge Realty Trust also owns three other local buildings ranging from 12,000 to 118,000 square-feet, all of which are associated with the science, technology, engineering and mathematical fields. Todd Mills, executive vice president for CBRE Group Inc. says, “The reasoning is pretty clear. A lot of these companies only invest in tech markets, so they’ve been invested in Silicon Valley and see what’s happening in Austin.” Drawbridge is among four other major players in the industry from the Bay Area. As long as the Austin market continues to depend on the tech industry for growth, the interest and focus of San Francisco investors is expected to heighten.

Information Source:
Buccholz, Jan. “Bay Area continues to take bits of Austin.” Austin Business Journal 29 Nov. 2013: 7. Print.

The eagerly awaited moment has arrived: In-N-Out Burger opened in Round Rock on Tuesday, December 3rd and the response was nothing short of ecstatic. This is the first In-N-Out location in Central Texas to open its doors for business after the burger chain made their first Texas debut in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex in 2011. Long lines of people and cars offer a warm welcome to the family-owned business and are likely to continue until excitement calms. The expansion will not end here. Both Austin and Cedar Park are expected to have locations open by the first of the year, and San Antonio is rumored to be next in line.

A two-year construction project on MoPac Expressway is scheduled to begin next month. The project will stretch from Cesar Chavez to Parmer Lane with the objective of adding one tolled express lane in each direction. The director of community relations for the MoPac Improvement Project, Steve Pustelnyk, has ensured that they are “going to be doing an extensive outreach effort to try and make sure the drivers know what we’re doing and when so they can avoid any issues.” Lane closure times have been limited to the window of 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. to minimize resident’s increase in commute times. Construction will begin between RM 2222 and US 183, and all sections will be under construction by Summer 2014. The $200 million project’s purpose is to provide reliable routes for high priority travel. The project is being funded by the Texas Transportation Commission.