Because there are not enough things or people called "icon" in the world, a new apartment complex bearing the name is headed to the West Campus, adjacent to the University of Texas.
Hoar Construction announced the building's groundbreaking Tuesday. Developers have named the 30-story tower, slated to be built at 2200 San Antonio Street on a mostly empty lot just south of the (also 30-story) Moontower student high-rise, "Icon." The choice of moniker could be slightly confusing for locals interested in the construction business — Austin 3D-printed-house company Icon Build is fairly well-known — but an improvement over the working name "Marvin Gardens," under which its design permit plans were submitted in 2022.
Icon will have 216 apartments ranging from one- to five-bedroom units, for a total of 555 beds. Measuring 246,867 square feet, the building will have a rooftop pool, a fitness center, game and lounge rooms, a podcast studio, and student work spaces, all on the top floors of the building. There will be four levels of below-ground parking.
Alabama-based Hoar and the MDL, a New York-based student-housing developer, owner, and operator, are partners on the project. Additional project partners include Austin's Rhode as the architect, Seattle's DCI as the structural engineer, and Dallas-based Blum as the MEP engineer.
When completed, Icon will be one of the tallest towers in the West Campus neighborhood, according to Tuesday's announcement. The tallest high-rise in that area to date is 30-story Waterloo Tower, a student apartment building operated as Yugo Austin Waterloo.
Developers expect Icon to be completed by summer 2025.
Hoar, which has been in Austin for about 10 years, recently finished work on high-profile hotel the Loren at Lady Bird Lake and is the builder for Inspire on 22nd, a 18-story high-rise also planned for West Campus. Rhode is architect for the Loren as well as for a number of high-profile Austin buildings, including the Independent and the Linden.
