The Modern Austin Residences Tops Out in the Rainey Street District

Image: Flintco

The 56-story Modern Austin Residences condo tower project celebrated its official “topping out” this week, with the building now reaching its maximum structural height of 658 feet at the northeast corner of Davis and Rainey Streets on the north end of the Rainey Street District in downtown Austin. It’s just one of multiple tower projects currently redefining the skyline of this neighborhood, which already contains the densest residential population in downtown and is set to gain hundreds more homes in the years to come — including 320 new residences at the Modern, with 21 of those condos income-restricted under the district’s affordable housing requirements.

Image: Nelsen Partners / Page

The tower’s topping off obviously represents a milestone for the project’s general contractors and construction pros at Flintco, but the Modern is also the crowning achievement of local real estate firm turned developer Urbanspace, which marked the project’s groundbreaking in a radically different local real estate lending environment in the spring of 2022. Despite the recent slowdown, we’re still pretty confident in the tower’s market appeal — the building’s elegant modernism-inspired (it’s in the name, right?) exterior architecture from Austin firms Nelsen Partners and Page stands out in the Rainey District and downtown generally, and Urbanspace’s knack for in-house interior design work should create exciting residential amenity spaces. The identity of the project’s ground-level retail space remains a mystery, with the building’s marketing indicating some sort of “members-only social club,” with condo ownership conferring membership alongside other perks like a yoga studio and whatnot. 

A nice family portrait of the Modern with its surrounding towers — on the far left is Paseo, with a hint of Waterline visible to the immediate left, and the recently completed Vesper condo tower to its right. Image: Flintco

The topping out ceremony, a longstanding construction tradition, was held to celebrate the hard work and achievements of all involved in the project. Team members from Flintco, Urbanspace, Page Architects, and trade partners on the project signed the final steel beam commemorating their contributions before it was raised, along with a tree and American flag, and placed at the highest point of the building.

— Flintco

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At 56 floors and 658 feet, the Modern would be the Rainey District’s tallest building if it weren’t for the record-smashing supertall rising one block to the west — when viewed together, all these towers in various stages of completion give the impression to a distant observer that the neighborhood is assembling like a really tall Voltron. But the Modern stands out, its understatedly elegant design inspired by classic midcentury architecture with lots of clean lines and crisp angles, a breath of fresh air in a district with plenty of new tall buildings fighting for your attention. The Modern is currently scheduled for completion in 2025.