AUSTIN, Texas — A new tower planned for Downtown Austin could become not only the tallest building in the city but the tallest in the state.
Local developer Wilson Capital has announced new plans for Wilson Tower, a multifamily high-rise expected to be built at the site of Avenue Lofts on East Fifth Street.
Construction on the tower – which would include 450 apartments and rise 1,035 feet – is expected to begin next summer. The tower would be taller than the 1,022-foot height planned for the Waterline tower, currently under construction at 98 Red River Street.
Wilson Tower would also more than double the 515-foot height of the Frost Bank tower downtown and best the state's current tallest building – the 1,002-foot-tall JPMorgan Chase Tower in Houston – by 33 feet.
The Austin Business Journal reports that Wilson Capital bought the Avenue Lofts site in December 2021 for an undisclosed amount. The company's co-founder and president, Taylor Wilson, told the ABJ that Wilson Capital did not set out to build the tallest tower in Texas. In fact, previous iterations called for the tower to much shorter, at 54 stories tall.
The tower site has overlay restrictions that push its Fifth Street frontage back 60 feet, Wilson told the ABJ. With that in mind, Wilson Capital explored several designs of varying height and width before settling on the current iteration.
Once the tower is completed, residents are expected to have access to four full floors of amenities, including a pool deck with food and beverage services, a cocktail lounge, a movie theater, a wellness center, a coworking space and an entire floor dedicated to pets that will include a pet playroom, grooming center and more.
The tower is also expected to have restaurant and retail space on the ground level, as well as green space and a water feature. Current plans call for Wilson Tower to have eight levels of above-grade parking and a quarter-level of below-grade parking, Wilson told the ABJ.
Rent for the Wilson Tower's apartments has not yet been determined but would be market rate.
To learn more, read the ABJ's full report.
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