AUSTIN, TX — The Waterline has finished construction and now stands as the tallest building in Texas, giving Austin a new skyline leader at 98 Red River Street downtown. The 74-story tower reaches 1,025 feet and edges past Houston’s JPMorgan Chase Tower by 23 feet.
DPR Construction said the mixed-use project was completed in July, two months ahead of schedule, after 48 months of construction. The building combines residences, hotel rooms, office space, retail, dining and parking in one of the city’s fastest-changing central districts.
How The Waterline passed Houston’s longtime height champion
For decades, the Texas height crown belonged to JPMorgan Chase Tower in downtown Houston, a 1,002-foot office building that opened in 1982. Designed by I.M. Pei & Partners and developed by Houston-based Hines, it was once the tallest building west of the Mississippi River before Los Angeles’ U.S. Bank Tower moved ahead in 1989.
The Waterline surpasses that landmark by a narrow margin, but the comparison is more complicated than the foot count alone. Houston’s tower has 75 floors, one more than The Waterline, even though Austin’s new building rises higher overall.
A massive mixed-use project with homes, hotel rooms and offices
The Waterline was developed by Dallas-based Lincoln Property Co. and San Antonio-based Kairoi Residential. KPF, also known as Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, served as design architect, while HKS was the architect of record…