A rendering of 70 Rainey, looking west towards downtown. Image: Sackman Enterprises / Page
Though it feels like it’s been a million years since the building first broke ground in 2016, the 70 Rainey condominium tower is rising quickly in the Rainey Street District — it’s currently at 23 floors and counting, more than halfway to its total 34 stories.
Despite the building’s growth, we haven’t heard many updates from developer Sackman Enterprises until earlier today, when the company hosted a tour of the site for members of the media — particularly focused on the building’s 10th-floor amenity deck. After nine stories of parking, this 24,000-square-foot space contains two swimming pools and expansive landscaping to give the area its hanging gardens-esque vibe.
A rendering of the view from one of the two pools on 70 Rainey’s amenity deck. You can see a photo from this same angle further down in the article. Image: Sackman Enterprises / Page
As for its position amongst other downtown Austin condos, 70 Rainey keeps good company along with three other residential towers under construction, including Austin Proper, Fifth & West, and The Independent. Its 164 residences are positioned atop the parking podium and amenity deck with a series of 36-foot concrete columns — the rendering below gives you a better idea what I’m talking about:
A rendering of 70 Rainey’s amenity deck on the building’s 10th floor. Image: Sackman Enterprises / Page
These columns, as you might have already noticed from the ground, are intentionally off-kilter. The condo portion of the tower is rotated 14 degrees from the podium base, supposedly to ensure that every unit has a great view of the lake — that’s at least what the brochure says. All that really matters to me is that the columns look extremely wacky, and it gives the building some additional charm. You’ll most likely agree when you see them up close in the photos below.
A rendering of 70 Rainey as seen from Rainey Street. Image: Sackman Enterprises / Page
The base of the building will contain retail space on the ground floor, likely for a restaurant and bar, along with a second-story patio area that development director C.J. Sackman told me will create additional outdoor bar space for alfresco drinking. The tenants for these spaces, however, are still unknown at this time.
Here’s some highlights from the tour — I’ve included a few details in the captions.
All photos by James Rambin.
A view of the 70 Rainey tower in progress from Rainey Street.
The 16th floor of the building’s condo section.
The view of downtown looking west from the 16th floor.
SkyHouse, a building we know lots about now, as seen from the 16th floor.
The Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center looks great from above. Let’s keep the MACC looking that way.
The view east down Holly Street at the beginning of rush hour, which looks stressful.
Looking roughly southwest across the river. Milago condos bottom left.
Here’s a money shot of the wonky pillars on the western side of the building’s 10th floor amenity deck, giving the building’s condo section its rotation.
Here are the pillars from the eastern side of the building.
Checking out the Shore Condos, Hotel Van Zandt, and Fairmont Austin from the 10th floor deck.
The Homewood Suites building on East Avenue is coming along — it gets weirder every day, doesn’t it?
The view looking west towards downtown up the river from the amenity deck’s pool area.
Another view of downtown from the amenity deck’s pool.
It’s quite a ride back to the ground on the construction site’s external elevator.
Hey, don’t forget that Sackman’s also planning a 9-story mixed-use development practically next door to the 70 Rainey tower — that’s something worth keeping an eye on, as Rainey Street slowly gains office space alongside its bars.
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