Texas' Tallest Tower Completes Construction Two Months Ahead of Schedule

More than 6,800 skilled workers and 150 trade partners helped DPR Construction build Austin's 74-story Waterline, "a city within a city" that combines five distinct uses and integrates with the downtown environment

AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 31, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- DPR Construction, a forward-thinking, self-performing builder, announced construction completion of Waterline, the 74-story mixed-use tower at 98 Red River Street. The tower rises 1,025 feet above downtown Austin and stands as the tallest building in Texas. Construction wrapped up in 48 months, two months ahead of a 50-month planned schedule. 

Spanning 2.7 million square feet with a footprint of more than three acres, the tower integrates residential, hotel, office, retail and parking into a single vertical destination—what one partner described as "a city within a city." It also creates a vibrant new ground-level connection to Waterloo Greenway's 13-acre Confluence, which opened in June. 

"Waterline pushed every assumption about scale, complexity and coordination," said DPR Project Executive Brett Bickford. "This was a massive undertaking, and we wouldn't be where we are today without our talented and resilient team of skilled craft professionals and trade partners."

Bickford noted that DPR's dedicated self-perform team was what made delivery ahead of schedule possible. This allowed the project team to manage critical scopes with their own workforce, providing greater control over quality and schedule, which led to more predictable outcomes.

"This monumental and highly complex project reflects what's possible when an extraordinary team aligns around a shared vision and never loses focus on execution," said Seth Johnston, Executive Vice President of Lincoln Property Company, which co-developed the project with Kairoi Residential.

Construction involved more than 150 trade partners and 6,800 skilled workers, who recorded approximately 4.5 million worker hours. Roughly 1,000 workers were onsite during peak activity. The DPR team also placed approximately 150,000 cubic yards of concrete—enough to fill 46 Olympic-sized swimming pools—including building more than 92 individual sculptural columns (15 installed on the roof).

"Delivering a project of this size, scale, and technical complexity requires trust, collaboration, resilience, and relentless commitment. And to get it done ahead of schedule is almost unheard of," said Bryan Kent, DPR's Central Texas Business Unit Leader. "Thousands of people helped bring Waterline to life, and their contributions have shaped Austin's skyline and strengthened how people experience and connect with our city. DPR is proud and thankful to have been part of it."

KEY PARTNERS: 

Development Partners: Lincoln Property Company and Kairoi Residential
Design Architect: KPF
Architect of Record: HKS, Inc.
Structural Engineer: Brockette Davis Drake, Inc. (BDD)
MEPF Engineer: Alvine & Associates, Inc.

WATERLINE BY THE NUMBERS 

Height: 1,025 feet 

Floors: 74 

Size: 2.7+ million square feet

Footprint: 3+ acres 

Completion: July 2026 (Delivered in 48 months, 2 months ahead of schedule) 

Concrete: 150,000+ cubic yards placed

Worker hours: 4.5+ million 

Workforce impact: Approximately 6,800 workers overall 

Peak onsite workforce: Approximately 1,000 workers at peak

Trade partners: Approximately 150 

Individual sculptural columns: 92 (15 on the roof)

Residential units: Top 33 floors, 352 units 

Hotel: 13 floors, 252 rooms

Office space: 24 floors, 703,000 square feet, Class AA offices

Dining & retail: 24,000 square feet

Elevators: 30

About DPR Construction

DPR Construction is a forward-thinking, self-performing general contractor and construction manager specializing in complex projects across the advanced technology, life sciences, healthcare, higher education, and commercial markets. Guided by our purpose—We Exist to Build Great Things®—DPR's global portfolio spans large-scale new construction, tenant improvements and special projects. 

Founded in 1990, DPR is one of the largest privately held, employee-owned companies in the US. We are strategically focused on building long-term partnerships and delivering more predictable outcomes for customers. We're advancing the industry by integrating the project lifecycle from design to delivery using innovative construction methods, prefabrication on more than 90% of new work, and a highly skilled craft workforce deployed on nearly all of our projects.

DPR consistently ranks among the top building contractors and employs more than 13,500 professionals across our family of companies worldwide. For more information, visit www.dpr.com. 

About Lincoln Property Company

Lincoln Property Company ("Lincoln") is one of the largest private real estate firms in the United States. Offering a fully integrated platform of real estate services and innovative solutions to owners, investors, lenders and occupiers, Lincoln supports the entire real estate lifecycle across asset types, including office, multifamily, life science, retail, industrial, data center, production studio, healthcare, government, universities, sports and entertainment, and mixed-use properties, throughout the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe. Lincoln's combined management and leasing portfolio on behalf of institutional clients includes more than 720 million square feet of commercial space. For more information, visit: www.lpc.com.

About Kairoi

Kairoi Residential is a partner-led company with a unified approach to investing, developing and managing multifamily communities. Kairoi has been involved in the business of developing and owning multifamily properties since 2002. Over the course of our existence, we have developed or owned in excess of 57,000 units in many cities and states across the country. Kairoi Residential has developed approximately $2.5B in new developments in San Antonio, Dallas, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Miami, Charlotte, and Austin.

For more information, please contact: 

DPR Construction 
John Daigre
[email protected] 
925-788-1615

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SOURCE DPR Construction