Dozens of residents inside The Residences at ATX Tower on West Sixth Street say they are living with water damage, repeated power outages, broken elevators and trash piling up in hallways — despite paying rents that stretch from roughly $2,600 to more than $10,000 a month. Several tenants have sent photos and videos documenting the problems, and some are now weighing whether to break their leases entirely.
The complaints, first detailed by CBS Austin, describe a building far from the polished image its developers have promoted since it opened. One resident’s apartment shows visible water damage, with water audibly rushing behind the wall near the affected area, according to the station’s reporting. Residents also told the outlet they’ve dealt with nonworking trash chutes, with the chute door routinely failing to open and trash piling up in the trash room, creating what one resident called a terrible, horrible smell.
Power Outages and AC Failures Take a Toll
Beyond the mess, residents describe repeated power outages and cooling failures that have disrupted daily life. One anonymous resident told the station that an air conditioning failure caused multiple sleepless nights because the apartment grew unbearably hot. Building staff have at times provided food or vouchers during some of these problems, per the same account, but residents say that gesture has not made up for the sheer number of issues piling up.
Several residents asked CBS Austin to conceal their identities, saying they feared retaliation for speaking out. One resident described the building as becoming unlivable, and others say they now question whether a relatively new tower can rack up this many reported problems so quickly. An anonymous resident summed up the frustration simply, telling the station that residents expect basic things to be taken care of, and that they should be able to trust that the building they pay for was built correctly.
A Building With a Troubled Track Record
The interior complaints follow a rockier history for the 58-story, roughly 670-foot skyscraper. Developed as a joint venture between Tishman Speyer and Ryan Companies, and designed by Handel Architects and Page, ATX Tower topped out in mid-2024 and delivered in 2025 with 368 luxury rental apartments stacked above office space. Before residents ever moved in, the tower experienced at least four separate incidents of falling glass panels within a four-month span in 2025, according to USGlass Magazine, repeatedly forcing police to close surrounding downtown streets…