Feature Illustration: Artist rendering of the proposed project. Image: waterlineaustin.com
Posted: 8-10-2025
Austin (Travis County) — The new tallest tower in Texas reached its maximum height of 1,025 feet above downtown Austin earlier this month as developers Lincoln Property Company (Lincoln) and Kairoi Residential celebrated the topping out of Waterline with a ceremonial lifting of the final beam to the top of the 74-story mixed-use high-rise.
Scheduled to open in 2026, Waterline will stand 23 feet taller than the JPMorgan Chase Tower in Houston, which has been the tallest building in Texas since 1981. Waterline soars 185 feet above Austin’s second-tallest building, Sixth and Guadalupe, which was also developed by Lincoln and Kairoi and opened last year.
Hundreds of construction workers and project team members attended the Waterline topping out celebration hosted by the project’s general contractor, DPR Construction, with many signing the beam before the crane hoisted it into place. More than 4,750 people have worked on the tower since construction began in 2022. At the peak of construction activity, approximately 875 people were working on-site daily.
Located at 98 Red River St., Waterline sits on a lush 3.3-acre campus near the intersection of Waller Creek and Lady Bird Lake, offering unobstructed views from every office and residential floor. Designed by KPF, the project features:
- 352 luxury apartment homes
- 700,000 square feet of office space
- A 251-room 1 Hotel Austin
- 24,000 square feet of publicly accessible retail and restaurant space overlooking Waller Creek and Waterloo Greenway
“Waterline has already remade the Austin skyline, but the project’s transformational impact on this area of downtown will be just as significant when the building opens in 2026,” said Lincoln Executive Vice President Seth Johnston. “Seamlessly integrated with Waller Creek, Waterloo Greenway and the hike-and-bike trail around Lady Bird Lake, Waterline will quickly become a top downtown destination and activity center. Project improvements will also make it far easier for people to access all of the public amenities in this area from Rainey Street, the new Austin Convention Center, and the rest of the Central Business District.”
Lincoln is currently marketing Waterline’s office floors, which are now ready for tenant improvements to begin. Kairoi will start marketing the residential units shortly before the tower, including 1 Hotel Austin, opens in the fall.
Edited from news release.
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