W Austin Hotel and Residences, Luxury skyscraper in Downtown Austin, United States.
The W Austin Hotel and Residences is a skyscraper in downtown Austin, Texas, combining hotel rooms and private condominiums in a single tower. The building has 37 floors, with hotel rooms occupying the lower levels and residential units starting higher up, all featuring floor-to-ceiling windows.
Construction started in 2008 and the building opened in December 2010, with Magic Johnson's investment company among the main financial backers. The project was part of a broader wave of development that reshaped the downtown Austin skyline around that time.
The base of the tower holds ACL Live at The Moody Theater, a concert hall where the television show Austin City Limits is recorded. On show nights, the street outside fills with music fans, tour buses, and crew, giving the building a very different energy than a typical hotel.
The building sits in downtown Austin near the Colorado River and the Second Street District, within walking distance of many restaurants and shops. Hotel guests should be aware that on concert nights at ACL Live, the area around the main entrance can get very crowded.
About a year after opening, hundreds of glass panels on the tower had to be replaced following several incidents in which glass fell from the upper floors. The repairs were carried out while the hotel remained open and operational.
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