The Downtown Austin Commission approved this today. Basically it's an endorsement of the project.
They interviewed Gensler and got some more information about it. They said the building will function as two hotels and will have a skywalk connecting the building to the Austin Convention Center across the street.
And they just barely showed some more renderings of it. They said they wanted the building to be an architectural landmark in Austin. They said construction is supposed to start next year.
I still haven't gotten an email back, yet, about the building heights. I'll try for these guys tomorrow:
http://www.gensler.com/#aboutus/offices/32