AUSTIN – (Realty News Report) – M2 Development Partners has announced plans for a 64-story mixed-use tower in downtown Austin, positioned near the north shore of Lady Bird Lake. The project aims to add a significant new landmark to the city skyline while delivering a blend of hospitality, for-sale residences and rental housing.
Planned to open in the third quarter of 2025, the tower would include 250 hotel rooms, 150 condominiums for sale and 170 rental apartment units, providing a diverse mix of housing and hotel options in the heart of downtown.
The proposed site occupies approximately 1.2 acres at 80 Red River in the southeastern sector of downtown Austin, a location that offers proximity to the lake and convenient access to the city’s central neighborhoods and entertainment districts.
If realized as envisioned, the 64-story development would become the second-tallest building in Austin, slightly shorter than the 6X Guadalupe tower currently under construction at West Sixth and Guadalupe. Early reporting on the proposal was published by Shonda Novak of the Austin American-Statesman.
Austin’s real estate market has been heating up in recent years as companies and executives relocate to the city. High-profile corporate moves and expansions have driven demand for office, residential and hospitality space. Oracle Corp. recently expanded its presence in Austin, and Tesla is rapidly building a large manufacturing campus in East Austin. These moves, along with the arrival of executives who have relocated their residences to Austin, have fueled both commercial and residential development activity across the metro area.
Several major projects are under construction or in planning near Lady Bird Lake. On the lake’s north bank, Trammell Crow is developing an approximately 800,000-square-foot office tower for Google. Stream Realty Partners is building the River South tower, which will include the Baker Botts law firm as a major tenant. On the southern bank, the 19-acre Austin American-Statesman site, adjacent to the Congress Avenue bat bridge, is awaiting redevelopment and represents another notable opportunity for growth in the lakeside corridor.
M2’s tower is currently in the design phase, according to managing principal Timothy Morris. International architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is leading the building’s design. At 64 stories, the proposed structure would match the height of Houston’s landmark Williams Tower, reflecting the scale M2 envisions for the downtown site.
The proposed tower is expected to rise to about 802 feet and will be situated along Waller Creek, offering unobstructed views of Lady Bird Lake and the surrounding skyline. The general neighborhood, including the Rainey Street corridor, has become a hub for high-rise residential development, and the new tower would further add to that transformation.
Estimated development costs exceed $500 million. M2 Development Partners has said it is in discussions with several potential equity partners to help finance the project and advance it through permitting and construction.
When complete, the project would total roughly 1.1 million square feet. In addition to the hotel rooms, condominiums and rental apartments, the plans call for approximately 30,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space, 10,000 square feet of ground-level retail, a 550-space parking garage and a signature rooftop restaurant that would capitalize on expansive lake and skyline views.
Currently, the tallest completed residential tower in Austin is The Independent, a 58-story building often referred to locally as the “Jenga Tower.” The proposed M2 tower would surpass The Independent in overall height and add a new prominent element to Austin’s evolving skyline if it proceeds as planned.
Jan. 29, 2021 Realty News Report Copyright 2021
File: 64-Story Austin Tower Proposed
Image: Skidmore Owings & Merrill. Courtesy M2 Development Partners
File: Austin development. Residential. 64-Story Austin Tower Proposed by M2 Development. Lady Bird Lake. The Independent. Jenga Tower. Elon Musk.