| W Austin Hotel & Residences | |
|---|---|
| WHotelAustin-Jun2010.JPG The building topped out from Butler Park |
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| General information | |
| Status | Complete |
| Type | Residential |
| Location | 200 Lavaca Street Austin, Texas |
| Estimated completion | 2010 |
| Opening | 2010 |
| Height | |
| Roof | 145 m (476 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 37 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Andersson-Wise Architects |
W Austin Hotel & Residences is a 37-story hotel and residential skyscraper in Austin, Texas that opened in December 2010. Standing at 478 feet above the ground and 37 stories, it is the fourth tallest building in Austin. It is a residential building that sits behind the Austin City Hall. It holds 250 hotel units, managed by W Hotels and 159 condominiums. Earvin "Magic" Johnson's investment company Canyon Johnson Urban Fund II is the primary investor and he also attended the opening ceremony.[1]
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The W Austin houses Moody Theater, the new theater and studio for Austin City Limits Live, which was completed in February 2011.[2] The Moody Foundation of Galveston granted $2.5 million to KLRU, the largest single gift ever received by the PBS station, to help equip the new home of “Austin City Limits” on Second Street downtown with high-definition production equipment. In recognition, the new venue is called Moody Theater. The new theater/studio holds 2,750 fans, up from the capacity of 320 at its current space north of University of Texas at Austin campus, and hosts an estimated 120 shows a year in addition to the “ACL” tapings. KLRU gets 45 days a year, rent-free, to produce each season of the longest-running music series in American television history.[3]
In 2011, three incidents involving glass falling from the balconies of the hotel forced the building to close its doors. The first occurred on June 11 when 2 glass panels from the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth floors fell into the pool area, injuring 4.[4] The second happened 16 days later on June 27, when 3 more panels fell onto Third and Lavaca Streets. Following the incident, a thousand panels would be replaced. [5] The third and latest glass falling incident occurred on June 29.