Current progress on the Sixth and Guadalupe tower project. Photo by James Rambin
It’s no secret that at 875 feet, the Sixth & Guadalupe office and residential tower currently under construction in downtown Austin will officially become the tallest building in the city when it’s done — at least until the next tallest thing comes along in a few years, of course. Scheduled for completion sometime in 2023, this 66-floor project at 400 West Sixth Street will become the local headquarters of Facebook parent company Meta, alongside 349 residential units and substantial retail space.
A rendering of the completed Sixth and Guadalupe tower, thumbing its nose at the previous tallest in town. Well, we’re sort of imagining that part. Image: Lincoln Property Company / Kairoi Residential / Gensler Austin
A live webcam view of the Sixth and Guadalupe tower’s construction. Pretty neat, huh?
But although the official bean counters don’t start considering the building’s height until it’s completed and occupied, we’re a little more flexible around here, and lately it’s kinda hard not to notice that the tower is starting to rise awfully close to the 690-foot height of the current official tallest building in Austin, the Independent condos — or, as normal people who haven’t had their brains cooked by a skyscraper obsession usually call it, the Jenga tower. Have you noticed?
Did you know that on average Sixth and Guadalupe is adding one floor every 5 days? Currently, we are on floor 55! It's all thanks to the hard work and collaboration of @JEDunn, @LincolnPropCo, @KairoiRes, DivcoWest, @gensler_design, and Nudge Design. #constructionupdates pic.twitter.com/MbtHJ7MbNF
— Sixth and Guadalupe (@sixthandguad) June 8, 2022
There’s several blocks and an elevation difference between the two buildings, so it’s hard to tell depending on your perspective. From Zilker, for instance, the Independent looks taller, because it’s five blocks closer to you. Not rocket science, but we trekked up to Barton Creek Square Mall on this muggy, foggy morning for a better look anyway — we’re not winning any prizes for this photo, but it gets the job done:
On the left, the Sixth and Guadalupe project. On the right, the Independent condos. Photo by James Rambin
That seems awfully conclusive, doesn’t it? We reached out to the development team at Kairoi Residential, building the project in partnership with Lincoln Property Company, architects at Gensler Austin and Nudge Design, investors DivcoWest, and general contractors JE Dunn Construction. Here’s the good word from Tony Curp, senior vice president for development at Kairoi:
I just checked with our construction team and with current construction progress we are now the tallest building in Austin.
— Tony Curp, Kairoi Residential
Hey, that was easier than we thought! Congratulations to Sixth and Guadalupe, which should hold the title of tallest until…well, at least 2027. It’ll be fun while it lasts.
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