Great weather during the past several months has helped construction of the office component for the TraVure mixed-use development in Germantown stay slightly ahead of schedule.

Construction on the $90 million TraVure began in February and an opening is planned for early next year.

“During a very critical time, we’ve been able to set the footings for the building and dig out all of the dirt for the five-story garage, which will (be) three stories above ground and two stories below,” said Ray Gill, president of developer Gill Properties, which is handling the development of the office, retail/restaurant, and parking components of TraVure.

Since the project broke ground, the major tenant for the office space, Mid-America Apartment Communities, has expanded and now plans to occupy three full floors totaling 90,000 square feet of the main 150,000-square-foot office building.

An adjacent 47,500-square-foot building will include 30,000 square feet of additional office space along with 17,500 square feet for retail and restaurant use.

“With the office market evolving into now wanting certain characteristics in a site, hopefully we have those characteristics, and that’s three things: a traffic signal, a hotel within easy walking distance, and fine dining and retail next to the office buildings,” said Gill.

Bill Thoda & Associates is the architect working with the developer, and Grinder, Taber & Grinder is the general contractor for the office building and the 476-car parking garage. The property also will include more than 120 surface parking spots.

When Gill Properties originally bought the ten-acre property, plans were simply to build an office building, but those plans evolved into higher density with multiple uses.

“We’ve been lucky to have dealt with forward-thinking government in Germantown to see how these components in an urban, intimate, walkable setting is a stark contrast to multi-story buildings set in a sea of parking,” said Gill.

“There’s pent-up demand in Germantown for office space because there hasn’t been much office space developed there recently for a variety of reasons.”

TraVure’s 206-room hotel, which is being developed separately by Desai Hotel Group, will be branded as a Hilton Garden Inn/Home 2 Suites with separate entrances on opposite ends of the hotel.

LLW Architects, which specializes in hospitality architecture, is the designer for the project. Construction should get underway later this year once construction loan details are finalized.