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A suite of massive mixed-use projects are underway across Austin—and will transform the city over the next two decades are they are completed in phases. (Endeavor)
Notice cranes in the Austin skyline or fenced-off city blocks with deep holes in the ground? The constant construction is building the Austin of tomorrow, including five major mixed-use developments that span the South shore of Lady Bird Lake to the northeast tech corridor and are due to be completed over the next two decades.
EastVillage
EastVillage is a forthcoming mixed-use development in Northeast Austin. (EastVillage)
This $1 billion, 425-acre mixed-use development will be located on Parmer Lane, across from the Samsung Austin Semiconductor plant and in the heart of the northeast tech corridor. Developer Reger Holdings refers to the area as Austin's Upper East Side.
The first phase of the project, which includes a 312-unit apartment complex, recently broke ground and is due to be completed next spring. By 2028, when the development is expected to be completed, it will feature 2,000 multifamily units, 466 single-family homes, three hotels, 319,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, 810,000 square feet of office space and 150 acres of wooded preserve.
Capitol Complex
The Capitol Complex will add a tree-lined pedestrian promenade on Congress Avenue between 16th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. (Texas Facilities Commission)
The Texas Capitol Complex master plan is a state effort that aims to centralize state agencies and construct a pedestrian mall along Congress Avenue between 16th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
The $895 million project is due to be completed in three phases, according to the Texas Facilities Commission. The first phase includes the construction of two new state office buildings, the pedestrian mall and a two-story water utility plant, which are due to be completed between July and next May. The second phase is expected to be finished in 2025. There is also the possibility of a third phase, although funding and a timeframe have not yet been established.
Innovation District
The HealthSouth redevelopment has been called a catalyst project for the city's burgeoning health innovation district. (City of Austin)
The city's burgeoning health innovation district—a nexus of academic, business and public tenants focused on new health policies, systems and products—includes Dell Medical School, Dell Seton Medical Center and the redeveloped HealthSouth property.
Austin City Council recently entered into preliminary negotiations with Aspen Heights Partners regarding HealthSouth and its parking garage, on Red River Street, which could serve as the district's catalyst project. As proposed, it would include multi-bedroom affordable housing and affordable on-site childcare, live music and art venue space and publicly accessible open spaces.
Over the next decade, the district could create nearly 3,000 jobs, increase land value and property tax revenue, and generate $800 million in economic output, according to an analysis commissioned by the Downtown Austin Alliance.
South Central Waterfront
The South Central Waterfront plan will guide redevelopment of the area's 32 private parcels, the largest of which is the Austin American-Statesman building. (Endeavor)
Austin City Council adopted the South Central Waterfront Framework Plan in 2016, which will guide the redevelopment of 118 acres along Lady Bird Lake over the next 20 years. The area is made up of 32 private parcels, including the Austin American-Statesman property.
The $252 million plan charts out a network of connected green streets, public open spaces and a goal of 530 new affordable housing units. As proposed, the Statesman site will be redeveloped to include several buildings, some as high as 40 stories; an extension of Barton Springs Road from South Congress Avenue to East Riverside Drive; and 12.5 acres of public space, including a waterfront park.
The Austin Economic Development Corporation, which is helping to manage the plan, intends to create a tax increment reinvestment zone, or TIRZ, to help finance the project, which would require approval from Austin City Council. A TIRZ uses future tax revenue to finance new development.
River Park
The controversial River Park development is due to open in phases over the next two decades. (Sasaki)
This 97-acre mixed use development is slated for the intersection of Riverside Drive and South Pleasant Valley Road and will include more than 400 affordable housing units as well as 10 million square feet of offices, shops, hotels, parks and homes. It is scheduled to be built in phases over the next two decades, with a preliminary start date planned for 2023.
Bordered by Guerrero Park and Country Club Creek, the development will include access to the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail and more than 30 acres of public parkland and urban trails. It will also be served by a forthcoming light rail line planned under Project Connect.
Developed by Presidium, River Park has faced controversy and prompted concerns about gentrification. Defend Our Hoods—a local advocacy organization that Austin police has said overlaps with the antifa group Mike Ramos Brigade—protested zoning changes for the site, which its members call the Domain on Riverside. The University of Texas at Austin student government also asked Austin City Council to vote against the changes or replace the affordable student housing currently in the area.
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Popular
(Laura Figi)
It’s not the high rises of Manhattan or the blend of Victorian and modern architecture seen in San Francisco, but we have a mix of charming, sleek and tall. Of course, being the tallest in any region is one of the main bragging rights, so we rounded up a list of some of the buildings with impressive heights over the years.
As coming towers make their entry to downtown, the Domain and other booming areas, here’s a look back at where it all began.
Texas State Capitol, 1888
(Earl McGehee/CC)
If any state capitol was going to be bigger than the nation’s, Texas was going to be it. The capitol stands about 14 feet taller than the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. Taking just a little more than six years to build, it eventually reached 302.64 feet from the south front ground level to the tip of the star of the Goddess of Liberty. The building has such a captivating view that the state and city have worked to preserve it by limiting the height of other buildings in a corridor.
Design didn’t come locally: a nationwide competition led to Detroit-based architect Elijah Myers’ design, which incorporated the look at the nation’s capitol, the Michigan state capitol and the Denver, Colorado courthouse.
Scarbrough and Littlefield, early 1900s
These buildings, which came to Austin through two Confederate veterans, drew attention in another part of downtown through their impact on the early business center.
In 1910, the Scarbrough building was completed and stood at what was once an impressive feat: eight stories. Emerson Monroe Scarbrough, owner of E.M. Scarbrough & Sons department store, brought the skyscraper to the southwest corner of Sixth and Congress. Bartering was still a common practice then but Scarbrough changed things up by setting prices and extending credit, reporting by the Austin American-Statesman notes.
While this was happening, president of the American National Bank George Littlefield broke ground on a building. In 1912, it was completed with a roof garden for parties. Littlefield later enclosed the garden to create a ninth story—just one story taller than Scarbrough’s.
In 2012, the buildings marked their 100-year anniversaries with a public celebration attended by the mayor and members of both families.
Norwood, 1929
Imagine an office building without air-conditioning. That’s what people had before Norwood stepped onto the scene as the first office with AC and the first “motoramp” for parking. With its castle-like build on West 7th Street, Norwood Tower set the stage for office buildings downtown with rooftop gardens and a penthouse. Its owners also have deep roots in Austin as members of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s family.
With its neo-gothic architecture, Norwood drew attention as the tallest commercial structure and its bashes. In 1939, a party for Austin High graduates was held and one attendee, Liz Carpenter, talked about the experience in the 14-story structure. “It was thrilling and at that point frightening to be up so high,” Carpenter said.
The University of Texas at Austin Tower, 1937
Sonic fast food workers and librarians at UT had a thing or two in common. The main building and its 27-floor tower were originally intended as the campus central library where librarians stationed on every other floor roller skated to requested books. They’d then pass the books along to students down below through a small freight elevator.
Known for its orange glow to mark victories and special occasions, the 307-foot UT tower was the tallest building in Austin for many years.
Ernest O. Thompson State Office Building, 1940s
from Austin
This 136-foot building was formerly known as the Austin Daily Tribune Building since the headquarters of a newspaper was once housed there.
The site at 920 Colorado joined the national register of historic places years ago and was renamed in honor of the former Texas Railroad Commissioner.
Westgate Tower, 1966
This 26-story high rise stirred some controversy when it was in the works. Some weren’t keen on having a building so high near to the capitol at 1122 Colorado St. Even then Gov. Price Daniel noted his opposition to it in an address to the legislature.
Earlier this year, it applied to become a city historic landmark given that politicians like Lyndon B. Johnson and former Lt. Governor David Dewhurst made appearances there. Plus, the 24th floor was the location of the headliners club.
Chase Bank Tower, mid-1970s
(Chase Tower ATX)
Twenty-one stories of golden mirror beauty. That’s how this tower described itself in an advertisement published in the Statesman in 1973. Aside from height, the building played up strengths like its 750 parking spaces and personal banking center.
This $17 million building enjoyed a year as the tallest building until the Austin National Bank Tower came out to be 14 feet taller.
One Eleven Congress, 1980s
(Cousins Properties)
Over 391 feet, this building formerly known as One Congress Plaza has now fallen on the list of tallest Austin buildings. But when it came onto the scene in the late 80s, it was one of the most notable during the tower boom of the time.
Today it features a food hall with eateries like Little Wu and Taco Pegaso. It also includes a conference center that can accommodate up to 75 people in a standard classroom setting and a fitness center to work out in.
Frost Bank Tower, 2004
A pyramidal crown topping off 33 stories, Frost came onto Congress Avenue standing at 515 feet and quickly got a reputation as the “owl building” given its bird-like appearance with eyes in the bank’s logo.
But as KVUE and others have confirmed, none of the architects have a connection to Rice University, so the eyes aren’t a jab at UT. It’s not connected to the Illuminati either—if you were wondering.
360 Condominiums, 2008
Breaking the Frost tower’s streak of 515 feet, this residential skyscraper went 47 feet higher. 360 is a reference to its numbered address on Nueces, and its 430 units are the envy of many. With a concierge and ground floor retail, it’s also in a prime location by the pedestrian bridge leading to Town Lake and 2nd Street stores.
But its time as the tallest didn’t last long. The Austonian arrived in 2010 with 56 floors that took over 360’s reign. Residents there enjoy amenities like a spa room, a library, a wine cellar, a theater and more.The Independent, 2019
The "jenga tower," or the Independent, stands at 685 feet tall and houses 58 stories. The year of its opening, the 363 condo units there reportedly ranged in price from $400,000 to $5 million.
It proudly touts itself as the tallest residential tower west of the Mississippi, but it has other offerings like an outdoor lounge, a heated pool, a coffee bar and more.Into the future
That brings us to now where we’re seeing some Scarbrough-Littlefield type of drama play out. The 66-floor tower known as Sixth and Guadalupe is set to house Meta. But it’s going up against another contender for the tallest building, a mixed-use project at 98 Red River St., which could end up being the tallest building in Texas.
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(City of Austin/Facebook)
Commissioned by the National Apartment Association and the National Multifamily Housing Council, the study found that Austin had the highest apartment demand across the nation using projected percentage growth and absolute new renters from 2021-2035.
Texas dominated the need for rental housing, with Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston following closely behind in slots two and three, respectively. The study said percentage growth tends to favor smaller metros while absolute growth favors larger metros.
While the study showed Austin was most starved for new units, it ranked fifth for the absolute number of units needed by 2035: 117,107, or a little over 9,000 units per year. Meanwhile, DFW needs 269,906 and Houston needs 209,084, both higher than totals in any other metro on the list.
(Laura Figi/Austonia)
In terms of percentage growth needed, Austin ranked second for percent growth needed at 2.6%, DFW slipped behind at 2% and 1.9% for Houston per year.
All combined, Texas ranks sixth for needed housing, requiring 653,285 new units and an increase of 1.6% per year.
According to a report from the Austin Business Journal, 60 projects were delivered locally in 2021, adding 15,198 new units across Travis, Hays, Williamson, Caldwell and Bastrop counties. There are 50,000 units currently under construction in Austin, though 45,000 are awaiting permits, which can be a lengthy, year-plus long process right now.
Additionally, the industry is grappling with regulatory changes and supply shortages that are slowing the process.
As of July, 47 apartment complexes are under construction, making up 13,270 units according to Apartmentdata.com, and another 128 communities representing 42,257 units are proposed.
