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Austin's Tallest Tower, Waterline, Is Complete

Hoi-Ling MakPublished 7m ago2 min readBased on 12 sources
Austin's Tallest Tower, Waterline, Is Complete
Photo by Daniel Romero on Unsplash

Architecture firm KPF has completed Waterline, a 1,025-foot (312-metre) tower in Austin, Texas. Dezeen reported the completion on 28 October 2026.

The building is what the industry calls a supertall, a skyscraper taller than 300 metres. KPF, short for Kohn Pedersen Fox, is a New York practice. The firm says Waterline is the tallest tower in Texas, and it is the first supertall in Austin.

Waterline stands at 98 Red River Street, in the downtown core. Its shape is unusual. The building slopes up and away from Lady Bird Lake, a wide stretch of the Colorado River that runs through the city. Its designers have compared the silhouette to a "cowboy boot."

The tower is a mix of uses. Hotel and office space fill the lower floors, and luxury residences sit at the top. The developer's website also lists retail and restaurant space, along with indoor-outdoor amenities. The building has 74 stories.

The project has changed hands. WeWork, the shared-office company, first developed Waterline and chose a design by the architecture studio BIG through a competition. After WeWork's initial public offering failed in 2019, KPF took over the job. Early construction had already started by then.

The tower reached its full height in 2025. KPF announced the topping out on 1 August 2025, a milestone that marks the final beam of the structure. Dezeen had named Waterline among the most anticipated American architecture projects due to finish in 2026.

Finishing the outside is only part of the job. The Austin American-Statesman reported in May that the final fit-out of the interior could take longer than completion of the building itself. Fit-out is the work of putting in finishes, fixtures and fittings so that offices, shops and apartments can open.

For the people who live and work nearby, the practical effect will show up over the coming months. Residents, tenants and visitors will start to see which shops, restaurants and offices open first. Those are the decisions that will shape how the tower feels from street level.

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