Photograph of the Austin skyline and Congress Avenue Bridge over Lady Bird Lake
HomeDevelopment Advisory
Austin & Central Texas

Development Advisory

Land. Site selection. A plan that connects.

Commercial land sales, site selection and development strategy for landowners, buyers, businesses and developers across Austin and Central Texas.

What does commercial development advisory include?

Development advisory connects land sales, site selection and project strategy for commercial real estate in Austin and Central Texas. Greg Cooper helps landowners, buyers and developers evaluate probable use, market demand, infrastructure, site control and transaction alternatives, coordinating specialist findings with the economics and timing of the proposed project.

$2B+Career transactions
$650M+Institutional volume
20+ yearsIn real estate · Since 2005
J.D.University of Texas School of Law
Land sales & site selection

Are you selling land or finding the right site?

The evidence overlaps, but the transaction objectives differ. Start with your role and the decision you need to make.

For landowners and sellers

Define the likely uses and buyer groups, assemble reliable property information and evaluate whether entitlement or pre-marketing work supports the sale strategy. Compare pricing, exposure, confidentiality, timing and closing certainty.

Acreage alone does not determine value. Access, infrastructure, physical constraints and the time required to reach a buildable state influence what a qualified buyer can support.

For buyers, businesses and developers

Translate the operating or development requirement into screening criteria. Compare sites consistently, coordinate technical review and structure site control around the work needed to confirm the plan.

Separate essential requirements from preferences. A lower land price can be outweighed by utility extensions, off-site work, reduced yield or additional carrying time.

The decision before the deal

Why bring Greg into the development decision?

A site is not a project until the assumptions connect. Greg’s role is to bring the market, land transaction and intended use into the same conversation before—and while—capital is committed.

With $2B+ in career transactions, $650M+ in institutional volume and a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law, Greg connects the real estate strategy with the findings of the project’s qualified specialists.

About Greg Cooper →
Austin skyline and Congress Avenue Bridge over Lady Bird Lake
Austin, Texas · Photograph by Carlos Delgado / Unsplash
From land decision to execution

How does the advisory process work?

Stage the work so each major commitment follows the information needed to make it.

  1. Define the use and objective

    Clarify the intended occupant or customer, project scale, capital, schedule, ownership plan and measures of success. For a land sale, define the seller’s timing and transaction priorities.

  2. Source and screen alternatives

    Review marketed sites, ownership patterns and targeted opportunities. Compare access, infrastructure, jurisdiction, physical conditions and competing supply against the requirement.

  3. Connect feasibility and land value

    Relate probable yield, land basis, hard and soft costs, financing, carry, revenue and exit assumptions. Identify which inputs are verified and which require specialist work.

  4. Structure site control

    Coordinate price, diligence periods, extensions, approvals and closing milestones with the work still required. Align the transaction process with the project’s decision points.

  5. Coordinate the specialist team

    Bring survey, title, engineering, environmental, design, utility and entitlement findings back into the commercial model. Track what each finding changes about value, timing or feasibility.

  6. Choose the execution path

    Advance, revise, phase, partner, build to suit, sell, lease or stop. For sellers, carry the positioning and buyer process through diligence and closing; for buyers, resolve the requirements before the next commitment.

Services

What can Greg help you accomplish?

Choose the service that fits your project.

Industrial & Flex

Evaluate manufacturing, distribution, service industrial, outside-storage and flex concepts through operational fit, power, truck access and delivery requirements.

Explore Industrial & Flex →

Industrial Site Selection

Screen candidate sites around the intended operation, workforce, transportation, utilities and the feasibility of the proposed use.

Explore Industrial Site Selection →

Build-to-Suit Solutions

Compare an existing facility with a project designed around the business. Connect site requirements with delivery, capital and lease or ownership terms.

Explore Build-to-Suit Solutions →

Multifamily Development

Evaluate apartment and redevelopment sites through entitlement, potential unit yield, competitive supply, rents and development economics.

Explore Multifamily Development →

Retail & Restaurant Sites

Test location options against customer access, visibility, parking, intended use, utility needs and the cost of delivering an operating space.

Explore Retail & Restaurant Sites →

Office & Mixed-Use Strategy

Evaluate office components through demand, access, parking, infrastructure, phasing and the capital required to execute the plan.

Explore Office & Mixed-Use Strategy →
Diligence framework

Which assumptions can change the project?

A compelling concept is only a starting point. The site, market, cost, capital and execution plan need to work together.

Use and entitlement

What is allowed today? Identify the approvals, rezoning, platting or development agreements that may be needed, and how their timing or conditions could affect the plan.

Access and circulation

Review legal and physical access, frontage, turn movements, shared drives, deliveries, truck circulation and parking. Identify off-site improvements that could change cost or timing.

Utilities and infrastructure

Evaluate the availability, capacity, location, cost and delivery schedule of water, wastewater, power, gas, drainage and data infrastructure with the relevant providers and consultants.

Physical conditions and title

Consider topography, soils, floodplain, drainage, environmental conditions, easements, deed restrictions and existing improvements. Translate constraints into usable area and probable yield.

Market, costs and capital

Identify the expected users or buyers, competing options and supportable rent or sale assumptions. Connect them with land, construction, soft costs, contingency, financing and required equity.

Delivery and exit

Test the approval, design, construction and absorption schedule. Consider whether the lease-up, sale, refinance or owner-user plan remains viable if costs, revenues or timing change.

Greg provides real estate and transaction advice and coordinates with qualified engineers, surveyors, environmental consultants, architects, attorneys and other specialists. Technical and legal findings belong to the professionals engaged for those roles.

What if the best next step is to change the plan?

Development advisory should make the decision thresholds clear. If access, approvals, infrastructure, cost, demand or timing no longer supports the original concept, reconsider the commitment before more capital is exposed.

A landowner may sell the opportunity, pursue selected pre-development work or explore a partner. A buyer may revise the use, change phasing or negotiate different terms. The goal is a decision supported by the evidence—not a defense of the original idea.

Market research

Which market evidence belongs in the development decision?

Use property-type research to frame demand, competing supply and revenue assumptions. Then test those assumptions against the proposed site, product and delivery schedule.

Frequently asked questions

What should you know before the next move?

Start with the decision, then work through the property and transaction details.

Does this service include land sales and site selection?

Yes. Development Advisory combines commercial land sales, buyer site searches, site-selection strategy and development advisory. Landowners, buyers, businesses and developers can use the service at different stages of the real estate decision.

How is commercial land evaluated?

The analysis considers probable use, location, access, utilities, entitlement status, physical constraints, market demand, development yield, infrastructure cost and timing. Comparable sales are useful when those differences are understood.

Should I pursue entitlements before selling land?

Compare the potential change in buyer interest and value with the cost, time and execution risk of the proposed work. The appropriate path depends on the site, the likely buyers and your ownership objectives.

What should a site-selection review include?

Begin with the operating or development requirement. Compare location, legal and physical access, utilities, permitted use, site constraints, title matters, timing and project economics, with qualified specialists evaluating technical issues.

Can Greg help with a build-to-suit or owner-user project?

Yes. Greg can help define requirements, compare lease and ownership structures, source sites or development partners and coordinate the real estate negotiation with the client’s design, construction, legal and finance team.

Can a landowner use development advisory without becoming the developer?

Yes. A landowner can evaluate a land sale, entitlement work, a ground lease, a joint venture or a phased transaction. The purpose is to understand the opportunity and compare alternatives before choosing a role.

Does Greg provide engineering, legal or construction-cost opinions?

No. Greg provides commercial real estate, market and transaction advice. Engineers, attorneys, architects, contractors and other qualified professionals provide the technical, legal and cost opinions required for their disciplines.

What happens if a site or project no longer works?

The strategy may be to revise the concept, renegotiate site control, change phasing, seek a partner, sell the opportunity or stop. Updated evidence should guide the decision before additional commitments are made.

Greg Cooper, J.D., Broker Associate

Start With Strategy

Share the site or target area, intended use, project stage and next commitment. Start with a clear view of what needs to be resolved.

Start a Conversation