Tallest Residential Tower West Of The Mississippi Tops Out
The Independent, the tallest residential tower west of the Mississippi River, has topped out in Downtown Austin at 58 stories.
The 685-foot condominium project, a joint venture of Aspen Heights Partners and CIM Group, sits at the corner of West Third Street and West Avenue, on the edge of the master-planned Seaholm development. The 1.7-acre site, purchased for $14.5M, was the site of the city-owned Austin Energy Control Center until it was sold in 2015.
The 363 units in The Independent, from one to four bedrooms, will range from $400K to $3.5M. Most units for sale are in the range of $600K. Condo sizes range from 675 SF to 3,485 SF for the penthouse units.
The distinctive design by Austin-based Rhode:Partners can be seen from all directions downtown and is frequently referred to as the "Jenga" tower. The design won the 2017 American Architecture Prize.
Contractor Balfour Beatty Construction broke ground on the $300M project in early 2016 and is on a three-year construction timeline for completion. The project will be just under 1M SF.
The city relaxed is height restrictions for the tower. In return, the developers provided $3.5M to the city: $2.5M for the city's affordable housing efforts and $1M for local upgrades to trails and parks.
Urbanspace is the exclusive listing broker for The Independent. Austin-based Aspen Heights also is the developer of Rise on Eighth and Nueces downtown, as well as Aspen West Campus. Los Angeles-based CIM Group has invested in other Austin properties, including Seaholm and Penn Field.
