AUSTIN | Waterline (98 Red River) | 1,022 FT / 312 M | 73 FLOORS

[The ATX]

Austin is fairly unique as a non-coastal U.S. city in that it has embraced high-rise living as much as it has.

[clubtokyo]

To add to that, I would argue Austin is one of the fastest growing skylines in at least the past 20 years? What other city in the US has a grown a skyline of this density this fast?

[Cedar_B]

It’s all the California money moving in.

[N90]

Originally Posted by The ATX

Austin is fairly unique as a non-coastal U.S. city in that it has embraced high-rise living as much as it has.

Nah highrise living is not predominant in skylines even in coastal cities. Its caught on in the last 15 years but it’s still a growing thing that’s making inroads rather than an established thing. A lot of the residential highrises in most cities are mixed use too instead of purely residential.

It’s really only a thing in NYC, Miami, Chicago, Honolulu, and now Austin. And of those 5 really the only ones you can point to and say its skyline is dominated by residential highrises is Miami, Honolulu, and Austin. NYC and Chicago are very large and very varied to fit one box.

Everywhere else you go, their tallest buildings are all office. And while they do have highrise living in most major cities, their skylines are dominated by office buildings first and foremost and everything else comes second. Austin is the reverse of that. Austin’s is dominated by residential. It’s only in the last decade that offices began catching (back) up to residential in Downtown Austin and it’s still a long way off.

360 Condominiums was the tallest briefly after Frost and it was residential. The Austonian, which up until 2019 was the city’s tallest is a residential. The Independent, which until 2023 was the city’s tallest is a residential. While 6XG is an office and the current tallest, it’s about to be replaced by the Waterline next year, which is mixed use with mostly residential in it. This isn’t normal. If you look at most major US cities and their 10-15 tallest buildings then the super majority are offices.

That’s why highrise living isn’t a coastal vs noncoastal question. Houston probably has more highrise living than most of the major East & West coast cities (though Houston itself is Gulf Coast). Chicago almost definitely has more than every coastal city aside from NYC and Miami. Atlanta and Dallas probably compare favorably to their coastal peers on highrise living, especially in neighborhoods like Uptown Dallas and Buckhead Atlanta.

Austin shares more in common with the Canadian cities in this regard than US cities (aside from a select few like Miami or Honolulu).

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by wwmiv

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:

I won’t truly consider Austin to have a major dense urban core or skyline until all of the following conditions are met:

1. Towers over 500’ throughout the area bounded by Lamar, I-35, the river, and MLK.
2. Multiple supertalls.

That's not what I mean by dense area. A city the size of Austin doesn't need multiple supertalls. Very few cities in the US have that. You can build multiple 30 to 40 story buildings, or many buildings under 500 ft, and get a dense urban area. As long as the buildings aren't spread out with multiple open spaces, parking lots, and 1 to 2 story buildings in between.

That's why I'm saying if they continue along the lines of what's being built now, it could become very dense, from an urban perspective.

[clubtokyo]

I agree NYguy. Austin does not need multiple supertalls, just more density and that can come in many different heights.

[Cedar_B]

The poor Frost tower looks so tiny in that last pic.

[Urbannizer]

Originally Posted by N90

360 Condominiums was the tallest briefly after Frost and it was residential. The Austonian, which up until 2019 was the city’s tallest is a residential. The Independent, which until 2023 was the city’s tallest is a residential. While 6XG is an office and the current tallest, it’s about to be replaced by the Waterline next year, which is mixed use with mostly residential in it. This isn’t normal. If you look at most major US cities and their 10-15 tallest buildings then the super majority are offices.

6XG is office and residential. Waterline takes a step further by being hotel, office, and residential. I think Vista Tower in Chicago is the only other super tall with more than one component. Would be interesting to see a list of tallest mixed-use buildings.

[mrnyc]

Originally Posted by Cedar_B

The poor Frost tower looks so tiny in that last pic.

yes that photo amazes me and i could not help but key right in on frost and notice that.

you really have to look for it in aerials now, don’t you?

austin has come a long way from being a sleepy hippy town baby.

[clubtokyo]

Austin has for sure exploded with growth. Quite amazing at a US level outside of NYC.

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by Urbannizer

6XG is office and residential. Waterline takes a step further by being hotel, office, and residential. I think Vista Tower in Chicago is the only other super tall with more than one component. Would be interesting to see a list of tallest mixed-use buildings.

There are plenty of mixed use supertalls. The Wilshire Grand in Los Angeles is offices and hotel, for example.

[Zapatan]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

There are plenty of mixed use supertalls. The Wilshire Grand in Los Angeles is offices and hotel, for example.

Yea, John Hancock and Trump are too in addition to Vista. Most of Chicago's supertalls are mixed use minus Sears and AON.

[Charmy2]

Originally Posted by Zapatan

Yea, John Hancock and Trump are too in addition to Vista. Most of Chicago's supertalls are mixed use minus Sears and AON.

Had no clue John Hancock was mixed use...

[clubtokyo]

Did not know that either about hancock.

[Zapatan]

^ Yea, the bottom 40 or so floors of JHC are offices, the rest are condos.

At least this was the case when it was built.

[IluvATX]

Gaining some height.

[NYguy]

https://canada.constructconnect.com/...lding-in-texas

The Waterline rises as tallest building in Texas





John Bleasby
February 5, 2024

A74-storey building soaring 1,022 feet high is set to become the tallest building in Texas when completed in 2026.

Located on a 3.3 acre site in the heart of downtown Austin, the Waterline broke ground in June 2023. It’s the latest in a series of three major projects in Austin undertaken over the past three years by Dallas firm, Lincoln Property Company. Two of these have been partnered with San Antonio-based Kairoi Residential. One of Canada’s largest pension investment firms, the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, is Waterline’s primary equity partner, clearly sharing Lincoln Property’s optimism concerning the future commercial prospects for Austin.

As described in a Lincoln Property media release, Waterline’s 350 luxury rental apartments, occupying the top 33 storeys, will feature floor-to-ceiling windows, warm textures and native stone. Tenant amenities will include two pools on the 41st floor, plus a lounge, bar, kitchen and co-working space. A movement studio, workout studio and steam room will be located one floor above that, along with soaking tubs, hammocks, a barbecue pit and a communal dining area.

The multi-use project will also include 700,000 square feet of office space, 24,000 square feet of ground-level retail space, and a 251-room hotel, the first in Texas under the 1 Hotels brand and operated by global hospitality company SH Hotels & Resorts

The Waterline will become the state’s tallest structure by default. Wilson Tower, originally planned as an 80-storey residential tower, also in Austin, was recently scaled back to 45 storeys.

As Taylor Wilson, founder and president of Wilson Capital told local media, “Construction costs and interest rates are both higher now than they were when we originally designed the project. We believe this new design is more appropriate to provide an activated ground floor while remaining feasible in today’s environment.”

[clubtokyo]

Noice! Thanks for sharing NYguy!

[Zapatan]

What's on the super-high top floor / crown? Is it some sort of public or event space?

That'll be just awesome if so.

The middle part looks cool too.

[IluvATX]

Originally Posted by Zapatan

What's on the super-high top floor / crown? Is it some sort of public or event space?

That'll be just awesome if so.

The middle part looks cool too.

I think they are both amenity levels for the residents so it won’t be open to the public.