Block 185 is an office

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...

located at 601 W. 2nd St. in

Downtown Austin Downtown Austin is the central business district of Austin, Texas. Downtown is located on the north bank of the Colorado River. The approximate borders of Downtown include Lamar Boulevard to the west, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and the Un ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. The tower topped out in July 2021. The tower is the fourth tallest in Austin at 594 feet, and the tallest office tower in Texas outside of

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Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

. Block 185 is bound to the west by Shoal Creek, to the east by Nueces Street, to the north by Second Street and to the south by

Cesar Chavez Street Cesar Chavez Street (formerly Army Street) is an east–west street in San Francisco, California, United States. The street was renamed in 1995 in honor of American labor leader and Latino American civil rights activist, Cesar Chavez. It ...

. The tower is located on the final parcel of the former Green Water Treatment Plant and in Austin's Second Street District.

History

In the 1839 plan of Austin the property, along with three other adjoining properties, was designated for use as a penitentiary, however, a map of Austin from 1840 shows that lot split out into four tracks - Block 185, 186, 187 and 188. Eventually, the 1.26 acre plot of land would become the Green Water Treatment Plant and, in 2012, it was purchased by a partnership between

Trammel Crow Fred Trammell Crow (June 10, 1914 – January 14, 2009) was an American real estate developer from Dallas, Texas. He is credited with the creation of several major real estate projects, including the Dallas Market Center, Peachtree Center in Atlan ...

and

MSD Capital MSD Capital is an American private investment firm that manages the capital of Michael Dell and his family. The firm, which is based in New York and has offices in Santa Monica and West Palm Beach, was formed in 1998. In 2009, the principals of ...

for $10,277,470. After many years of planning and many design changes, both increasing and decreasing in height, Block 185 started construction on January 16, 2019. Even after the groundbreaking, the tenants of the tower had not yet been announced and no renderings had been made public. On January 31, 2019,

Brandywine Brandywine may refer to: Food and drink *Brandy, a spirit produced by distilling wine *Brandywine tomato, a variety of heirloom tomato Geographic locations Canada * Brandywine Falls Provincial Park, British Columbia * Brandywine Mountain, British ...

announced that

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

would lease the entire building, and the Austin-American Statesman released the first renderings the same day.

Architecture

The building's unique design is due, in part, to setback requirements owing to its proximity to Shoal Creek and Lady Bird Lake. On the south side fronting Lady Bird Lake, this setback manifests itself as a series of receding terraces. On the west side, facing Shoal Creek, the tower's curtain-wall glass façade curves away from the creek, giving the building a sailboat like appearance. The tower has been called "''the single most impressive skyscraper design we’ve seen in the city since the debut of the

Frost Bank Tower The Frost Bank Tower is a skyscraper in Austin, Texas, United States. Standing 515 feet (157 m) tall with 33 floors, it is the fifth tallest building in Austin, behind The Independent, The Austonian, Fairmont Austin, and the 360 Co ...

''".

References

{{Downtown Austin Skyscraper office buildings in Austin, Texas