• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

TOWERS

Austin city life since 2007.

  • News
    • Condo Projects
    • Neighborhoods
  • Listings
    • Austin Condo Guide
  • Newsletter
Search
You are here: Home / Blog / On Island Time at WatersMark, the Weirdest Austin Condo Tower Never Built
Search suggestions: condos for sale • rainey street

On Island Time at WatersMark, the Weirdest Austin Condo Tower Never Built

James Rambin May 24, 2019 Comment

They seem pretty confident about that. Image: Austin History Center / James Rambin

Explosive growth, which would eventually come to define Austin despite storied resistance from its slacker set, really arrived at the dawn of the 1980s. That decade saw the development of a dozen buildings over 15 floors in height in the downtown area alone, and though Austin didn’t experience the stereotypical excess of the era compared to either Dallas or “Dallas,” the arrival of big money in what many residents still considered a small college town raised iconic towers like One American Center and One Eleven Congress, which mark the center of our widening skyline to this day. 

Of course, this first boom was not without its busts.
 

A 1982 print ad for WatersMark in the University of Texas’ Alcalde alumni magazine. Image: Emmis Communications

WatersMark made its debut in 1981, the same year its developers, the Dallas-based Criswell Development Company, finished construction on the Hyatt Regency hotel on the south bank of what was then still called Town Lake. Criswell, known for its later role in developing Dallas’ Fountain Place office tower — a late-modernist masterpiece by the firm of the late I.M. Pei — had luxury on the brain while planning a new residential development for Austin in 1979. The firm hired Harry Weese, celebrated for the design of Washington, D.C.’s Metro system and one of the future masterminds of the Fountain Place tower alongside architects Pei and Henry N. Cobb, to dream up an Austin condo tower unlike any other.

A drawing of the WatersMark development from a December 8, 1981 edition of the Austin American-Statesman, which looks north towards the lake with the Congress Avenue Bridge on the far left. Image: Austin History Center

First announced in late 1981 as The Waterford but renamed shortly after, WatersMark would be the highest of high-end condo buildings, its 176 units housed in twin towers topped by “fanciful mission tile roofs.” But the biggest selling point wasn’t necessarily how it looked, but where it was — perched on stilts over an artificial island carved from the southern shore of the lake. This bizarre design feature was possible only by the unique location of Criswell’s property, a 5.5-acre tract sandwiched between the Congress Avenue Bridge and the headquarters of the Austin American-Statesman:

A satellite image of the WatersMark property and Statesman headquarters taken in 1985. Image: U.S. Geological Survey

This site is now occupied by the newspaper’s printing center and parking lot, along with the observation area for the nearby bridge’s famous bat population — but at the time, the property was entirely undeveloped outside of the Hike-and-Bike trail running along the shore. Criswell’s plan was to carve out a new channel on this land that the lake would fill, creating the appearance of an island by eating up a chunk of the shoreline. The first WatersMark tower would straddle this inlet, half its stilts on the island and half on the mainland, with the trail also passing beneath the structure. 

There are few existing images of the WatersMark plan, but this selection from a similar, slightly more detailed black-and-white version of the colored Alcalde ad seen earlier, which ran in an April 1982 edition of the Austin American-Statesman, gives us a better look at how the southern shoreline of Town Lake would be altered to create a new “island.” Image: Austin History Center

The second tower, which Criswell expected to build after finishing and selling the first, would remain squarely on the mainland, but the luxurious effect of the island was clear. According to Stephen Van, the developer’s regional partner on the project, the average price for units in the buildings would be more than $300,000, or roughly $840,000 when adjusted for inflation. Van claimed in news coverage that the tower’s penthouses could sell for more than $1 million, or “whatever we can get for them.” The development’s stated cost totaled $60 million, or $170 million in 2019 dollars.

A selection from a June 1982 Austin American-Statesman article discussing the WatersMark project and its unique design, with comments from Criswell partner Stephen Van. Image: Austin History Center

With almost four decades of context separating 1980s Austin from the present day, perhaps the strangest part of WatersMark is just how close its developers came to succeeding. It’s hard to imagine such a dramatic plan for altering the lake’s shoreline would ever pass muster in 2019, the project’s design looking closer to a political ad intended to terrify the city’s environmental advocates than anything someone might genuinely attempt to build. Still, Criswell easily attained recommendations from the city’s Parks and Environmental Boards, and by January 1982 had also received the unanimous support of both the Planning Commission and City Council itself.

The developers took this opportunity to run another full-page ad in the Statesman:

Image: Austin History Center

Despite the high levels of civic enthusiasm, WatersMark’s downfall came swiftly. In November 1982, roughly 11 months after Criswell partner Stephen Van first described the project in the Statesman, he appeared once again in the paper announcing its cancellation and the property’s pending sale to Austin investor William “Dick” Benson.

Criswell had already sunk a reported $1 million into WatersMark’s design and marketing, with $25,000 alone spent on a scale model of the project Van told reporters might make a good centerpiece for his children’s model train set. “The bottom has fallen out of the high-rise condo market,” he explained, with the project’s lender requiring the presale of 20 units before it would advance financing for construction — and despite six months of advertising, the developer only secured five of those sales.

“The presale has to appeal to investors. People are buying a $500,000 item from pictures and dreams,” Van said. “That category of individual is wary of the future. Everyone liked the project and believed in Austin, but the times just weren’t right.”

— Austin American-Statesman, November 13, 1982

Even with the upcoming redevelopment of the Statesman site as part of the city’s larger South Central Waterfront Initiative, the strange and brief story of WatersMark’s plan for this property — its imagined “island” region now used mostly for nightly bat-watching — appears completely forgotten in the annals of Weird Austin.

Local developer William Hurd briefly considered a hotel complex at the property, known as Campanile Del Mar or “Tower of the Sea,” before going bankrupt in 1986. The Statesman expanded its headquarters over the land shortly afterward. Even the dead project’s name was soon recycled, with most Austinites knowing “WatersMark” only as an unrelated gated community built on Barton Creek in the 1990s. 

The improvements of Austin’s South Central Waterfront Initiative would redevelop the Statesman site and its surroundings, but it doesn’t seem to include any man-made islands. Image: City of Austin

Stephen Van’s still around, though — leaving Criswell soon after the WatersMark plan fell through, he founded Dallas hospitality group Prism Hotels & Resorts in 1983 and serves as the company’s CEO to this day. Van didn’t have much to add to the story, but says he fondly remembers both the 10 a.m. design meetings and 11:30 a.m. martini lunches he enjoyed with Harry Weese in Chicago while hashing out the details of the development. It’s really a perfect anecdote for this project — from its extravagant ambition to its ultimate decline, the curious history of WatersMark characterizes nearly everything about the booming Austin of the 1980s.

Though the city’s current growth patterns have long outlasted older periods of expansion, there’s still something striking about the audacity of the island plan versus many of Austin’s modern projects, which seem almost a little too safe by comparison. It’s fitting that the final line of the condo tower’s advertising copy inadvertently foretold its own obsolescence — no matter what we build tomorrow, there’s only one island, only one WatersMark, and there will never be another.

Travis Heights homes for sale

  • $2,150,000 1803 Kenwood Avenue
    Austin, TX
  • $1,650,000 1601 Brackenridge Street
    Austin, TX
  • $325,000 2215 Post Road #2054
    Austin, TX
  • $1,350,000 2012 Kenwood Avenue
    Austin, TX
  • $349,000 2215 Post Road #2108
    Austin, TX
  • $1,495,000 1118 Reagan Terrace
    Austin, TX
  • $3,850,000 1705 Newning Ave
    Austin, TX
  • $3,850,000 1705 Newning Avenue
    Austin, TX
  • $1,245,000 1305 Bonham Terrace
    Austin, TX
1803 Kenwood Avenue
Austin, TX
Photo of 1803  Kenwood Avenue, Austin, TX 78704 (MLS # 3020575)
$2,150,000
Lot Size
6,944 sqft

Home Size
2,698 sqft

Beds
4 Beds

Baths
3 Baths

1601 Brackenridge Street
Austin, TX
Photo of 1601  Brackenridge Street, Austin, TX 78704 (MLS # 2248780)
$1,650,000
Lot Size
6,378 sqft

Home Size
2,142 sqft

Beds
3 Beds

Baths
3 Baths

2215 Post Road #2054
Austin, TX
Photo of 2215  Post Road #2054, Austin, TX 78704 (MLS # 9082194)
$325,000
Lot Size
1,525 sqft

Home Size
610 sqft

Beds
1 Bed

Baths
1 Bath

2012 Kenwood Avenue
Austin, TX
Photo of 2012  Kenwood Avenue, Austin, TX 78704 (MLS # 3141459)
$1,350,000
Lot Size
6,953 sqft

Home Size
2,538 sqft

Beds
4 Beds

Baths
3 Baths

2215 Post Road #2108
Austin, TX
Photo of 2215  Post Road #2108, Austin, TX 78704 (MLS # 7650790)
$349,000
Lot Size
2,261 sqft

Home Size
905 sqft

Beds
2 Beds

Baths
2 Baths

1118 Reagan Terrace
Austin, TX
Photo of 1118  Reagan Terrace, Austin, TX 78704 (MLS # 6596934)
$1,495,000
Lot Size
12,912 sqft

Home Size
1,858 sqft

Beds
3 Beds

Baths
2 Baths

1705 Newning Ave
Austin, TX
Photo of 1705  Newning Ave, Austin, TX 78704 (MLS # 9624660)
$3,850,000
Lot Size
11,069 sqft

Home Size
3,580 sqft

Beds
N/A

Baths
N/A

1705 Newning Avenue
Austin, TX
Photo of 1705  Newning Avenue, Austin, TX 78704 (MLS # 4996970)
$3,850,000
Lot Size
11,069 sqft

Home Size
3,580 sqft

Beds
5 Beds

Baths
4 Baths

1305 Bonham Terrace
Austin, TX
Photo of 1305  Bonham Terrace, Austin, TX 78704 (MLS # 4759464)
$1,245,000
Lot Size
8,965 sqft

Home Size
2,012 sqft

Beds
3 Beds

Baths
3 Baths

  • 1803 Kenwood Avenue
    Austin, TX
    Photo of 1803  Kenwood Avenue, Austin, TX 78704 (MLS # 3020575)
    $2,150,000
    Lot Size
    6,944 sqft

    Home Size
    2,698 sqft

    Beds
    4 Beds

    Baths
    3 Baths

  • 1601 Brackenridge Street
    Austin, TX
    Photo of 1601  Brackenridge Street, Austin, TX 78704 (MLS # 2248780)
    $1,650,000
    Lot Size
    6,378 sqft

    Home Size
    2,142 sqft

    Beds
    3 Beds

    Baths
    3 Baths

  • 2215 Post Road #2054
    Austin, TX
    Photo of 2215  Post Road #2054, Austin, TX 78704 (MLS # 9082194)
    $325,000
    Lot Size
    1,525 sqft

    Home Size
    610 sqft

    Beds
    1 Bed

    Baths
    1 Bath

  • 2012 Kenwood Avenue
    Austin, TX
    Photo of 2012  Kenwood Avenue, Austin, TX 78704 (MLS # 3141459)
    $1,350,000
    Lot Size
    6,953 sqft

    Home Size
    2,538 sqft

    Beds
    4 Beds

    Baths
    3 Baths

  • 2215 Post Road #2108
    Austin, TX
    Photo of 2215  Post Road #2108, Austin, TX 78704 (MLS # 7650790)
    $349,000
    Lot Size
    2,261 sqft

    Home Size
    905 sqft

    Beds
    2 Beds

    Baths
    2 Baths

  • 1118 Reagan Terrace
    Austin, TX
    Photo of 1118  Reagan Terrace, Austin, TX 78704 (MLS # 6596934)
    $1,495,000
    Lot Size
    12,912 sqft

    Home Size
    1,858 sqft

    Beds
    3 Beds

    Baths
    2 Baths

  • 1705 Newning Ave
    Austin, TX
    Photo of 1705  Newning Ave, Austin, TX 78704 (MLS # 9624660)
    $3,850,000
    Lot Size
    11,069 sqft

    Home Size
    3,580 sqft

    Beds
    N/A

    Baths
    N/A

  • 1705 Newning Avenue
    Austin, TX
    Photo of 1705  Newning Avenue, Austin, TX 78704 (MLS # 4996970)
    $3,850,000
    Lot Size
    11,069 sqft

    Home Size
    3,580 sqft

    Beds
    5 Beds

    Baths
    4 Baths

  • 1305 Bonham Terrace
    Austin, TX
    Photo of 1305  Bonham Terrace, Austin, TX 78704 (MLS # 4759464)
    $1,245,000
    Lot Size
    8,965 sqft

    Home Size
    2,012 sqft

    Beds
    3 Beds

    Baths
    3 Baths

Previous Next
 

Editor's Suggested Posts

In Loving Memory: Downtown Austin's 'Golden Mirror'

In Loving Memory: Downtown Austin's 'Golden Mirror'

The Driskill Hotel's Rooftop 'Bungalow' is a Forgotten Austin Oddity

The Driskill Hotel's Rooftop 'Bungalow' is a Forgotten Austin Oddity

Chasing the Ghosts of Towers Past at Downtown Austin's 308 Guadalupe Site

Chasing the Ghosts of Towers Past at Downtown Austin's 308 Guadalupe Site

Related

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: 78704, architecture, city life, condos, design, development, historic preservation, history, residential, urbanism

About James Rambin

James is an Austin native and fifth-generation Texan, but tries not to brag about it. Email him anything at james@towers.net.

608 Brentwood Street #A
Austin, TX
Photo of 608  Brentwood Street #A, Austin, TX 78752 (MLS # 3202099)
$1,000,000
28
  • Lot Size
    4,356 sqft

  • Home Size
    1,959 sqft

  • Beds
    3 Beds

  • Baths
    3 Baths

Previous Post: « 99 Trinity Site Faces Foreclosure
Next Post: At Austin Energy’s New Rainey Street Substation, ‘Modern’ Is the Look »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

  •  Schedule a showing

FEATURED Listings

555 E 5th Street #912
Austin, TX
Photo of 555 E 5th Street #912, Austin, TX 78701 (MLS # 2622869)
$3,795,000
38
  • Lot Size
    427 sqft

  • Home Size
    4,051 sqft

  • Beds
    3 Beds

  • Baths
    3 Baths

View Virtual Tour
210 Lavaca Street #2310
Austin, TX
Photo of 210  Lavaca Street #2310, Austin, TX 78701 (MLS # 8383770)
$1,849,000
35
  • Lot Size

  • Home Size
    1,423 sqft

  • Beds
    2 Beds

  • Baths
    3 Baths

View Virtual Tour
44 East Avenue #2307
Austin, TX
Photo of 44  East Avenue #2307, Austin, TX 78701 (MLS # 1482427)
$995,000
40
  • Lot Size

  • Home Size
    1,221 sqft

  • Beds
    2 Beds

  • Baths
    2 Baths

54 Rainey Street #1116
Austin, TX
Photo of 54  Rainey Street #1116, Austin, TX 78701 (MLS # 1317121)
$625,000
21
  • Lot Size
    218 sqft

  • Home Size
    852 sqft

  • Beds
    1 Bed

  • Baths
    1 Bath

603 Davis Street #604
Austin, TX
Photo of 603  Davis Street #604, Austin, TX 78701 (MLS # 2434110)
$649,900
22
  • Lot Size
    214 sqft

  • Home Size
    1,136 sqft

  • Beds
    2 Beds

  • Baths
    2 Baths

austin condo report

Featured Buildings

  • The Independent
  • Fifth & West
  • 360
  • Austin City Lofts
  • W Residences
  • The Shore
  • 70 Rainey

Footer

LEGAL NOTICE

TREC Information About Brokerage Services (pdf)

Texas Real Estate Commission Consumer Protection Notice


TOWERS realty

Austin Condos For Sale

Agents

Downtown Buildings

Luxury Towers

  • Four Seasons Residences
  • W Hotel & Residences
  • The Austonian
  • 5 Fifty Five at Hilton

Most Popular

  • The Shore
  • 360 Condos
  • Seaholm Condos
  • Spring Condos
  • Milago Condos

New Construction

  • The Independent
  • 70 Rainey
  • Austin Proper
  • Fifth & West

Loft Style

  • Austin City Lofts
  • Brazos Place
  • The Sabine
  • Plaza Lofts
  • Brown Building

Resources

  • Austin Condo Guide
  • Condos For Sale
  • Condo Buyer FAQ
  • Property Search

Featured

Archives

Newsletter · About · Contact Us · DMCA · Privacy Policy · SLAPP · Copyright © 2007-2022 TOWERS.net · All Rights Reserved
 

Loading Comments...