HIGH RISE HIGHLIGHTS
DEVELOPMENT
STORIES COMPLETION
25 stories or under buildings
1 TBD , 311 E. Fifth St.
13
TBD
More than 20 towers over a dozen stories tall are expected to rise across downtown over the next decade including 98 Red River which is set to become Austin's tallest tower at 74 stories.
2 Cambria Hotel , 68 East Ave.
14 Summer 2023
3 CitizenM , 617 Colorado St.
17
Late 2023
23
5
4 405 Colorado , 401-405 Colorado St.
25
June 2021
3
26- to 50-story buildings
21
5 Hyatt Centric Austin , 721 Congress Ave.
31
August 2022
11
13
6
6 Sienna at the Thompson , 501 Brazos St.
32
March 2022
14
4
7 Block 185 , 601 W. Second St.
35
April 1, 2022
8
12
1
7
8 TBD , 213 W. Fourth St.
40
TBD
18
9 Vesper , 84 East Ave.
41
2024
10
10 Block 16 , 200 E. Second St. 11 Hanover Republic Square , 303 W. Fifth St. 12 Perennial , 216 E. Fourth St.
41
Early 2026
44
TBD
22
46
Late 2025
13 Fifth and Colorado , 415 Colorado St.
47
TBD
24
14 The Republic , 401 W. Fourth St.
48
TBD
20
23
15 44 East , 44 East Ave.
49 Summer 2022
16
19
16 56 East Avenue , 56 East Ave.
49
Early 2025
17
17 80 Rainey , 78-84 Rainey St.
49
TBD
35
2
18 Cielo project , Fourth Street
50
TBD
19 The Travis , 80 Red River St.
50 Late fall 2024
9
Once complete, Sixth and Guadalupe will take over as Austin's tallest building. RENDERING COURTESY LINCOLN PROPERTY COMPANY
51- to 75-story buildings
15
20 The Modern Austin , 610 Davis St.
56
TBD
N
21 321 West , 311-321 W. Sixth St. 22 Conrad Residences Austin , 311 E. Second St.
58
Early 2025
SOURCES: VARIOUS DEVELOPERS COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
65
2026
very well-supported and very loved—and you would think o -the-table—institutions are feeling the exact same pressure,” said Ben Heimsath, vice chair of the Historic Landmark Commission, at a March meeting. The commission is tasked with determining the potential historic value of structures citywide. But even if the board attempts to designate a building as historic, contested demolition cases can be elevated to City Council. At that stage, Tovo said o cials’ backing of a preservation tag over a property owner’s wishes happens “extraordinarily rarely” given defer- ence to owners—while allowances for towering high- rises more often get a green light. The con ict between old buildings and new growth recently generated a large public response around plans to rebuild a portion of West Fourth Street, home to Austin’s LGBTQ nightlife scene. Development of a new tower would result in the demolition of several bars tied to the gay community. Criticism around the project led the commission to designate the properties as historic—although the move may only temporarily stop the project ahead of council review. The Hanover Co. project team said its plans would preserve aspects of the block by bringing back Oilcan Harry’s and reconstructed brick facades. That type
of middle ground is something Tovo also said she hopes city policy could better provide. History and new growth
23 Sixth and Guadalupe , 400 W. Sixth St.
66 Summer 2023
24 TBD , 98 Red River St.
74
TBD
The case, and others recently considered by the commission, also served as an example of the varying pressures that often lead to the loss of older, poten- tially historic structures without signi cant pushback. “It’s frustrating how the few tools that we do have are being overwhelmed,” Heimsath said May 4. “This is going to be our future over the next several years, and it’s going to be pretty dismal.” While the West Fourth Street project generated enough support for a delay, many older buildings downtown have not. One example, a warehouse building at 301 San Jacinto Blvd. now home to Vince Young Steakhouse, was recommended for historic zoning by the city’s preservation o ce this year. Despite its links to old Austin industry, its property owner’s wish to likely move toward more pro table redevelopment led city o cials to avoid imposing a historic tag, which could limit development options. As it currently stands, the preservation issue is typically addressed in Austin on a case-by-case
basis. Derrington said the city fell behind on an e ort to designate more historic districts, rather than lone properties, that could have stabilized more historic areas. “We just started late, and so we missed a lot of opportunities,” she said. The lack of an o cial designation covering Aus- tin’s Warehouse District has led to multiple demo- litions or project proposals there, one of the areas highlighted by Tovo and Derrington. But even nationally listed districts along Rainey Street and East Sixth Street are not immune. A new proposal from the owner of many Sixth properties east of Brazos Street could see modern o ces stacked atop those landmark buildings in the near future. “Over the next 10 years … there’s going to be an immense amount of construction going on,” Peart said. “We do have challenges with infrastructure and a ordability that are constantly needing to be worked on.”
17
SOUTHWEST AUSTIN DRIPPING SPRINGS EDITION • MAY 2022
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