Developer Seeks Tallest Tower With Project Bolo

A rezoning application for 402 and 408 Congress Avenue in Austin proposes condos, hotel rooms and a restaurant.

Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Commercial

Wide view down a tree-lined Austin avenue toward the Texas Capitol dome, with a single construction crane rising in the distance over a low downtown skyline. — Developer's Project Bolo seeks rezoning at 402 and 408 Congress Avenue for 87 condos, 221 hotel rooms and a restaurant, up to 1,200 feet. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Should Austin allow taller downtown towers for luxury condos and hotels?

A developer has filed a rezoning application for Project Bolo at 402 and 408 Congress Avenue in Austin. The proposal includes 87 condos, 221 hotel rooms and a restaurant, with a requested height range of 750 to 1,200 feet.

Why it matters

Part of the site falls within a Capitol View Corridor, where downtown buildings are height-restricted to preserve views of the Texas Capitol. If approved, the project would allow the developer to build the tallest tower in Texas, a change to Austin's downtown skyline.

The rezoning application requests a height range of 750 to 1,200 feet, with 87 condos and 221 hotel rooms proposed. Whether the city will approve the height change has not been determined.

The players

Austin Business Journal

A regional business publication that reported on the Project Bolo rezoning application.

The details

Project Bolo would combine residential condos, a hotel and a restaurant on two adjacent Congress Avenue parcels. The developer's request would allow building heights well above current downtown limits in a section partially inside a protected view corridor.

October 2026: Nine homes and condos priced at $2 million or more traded hands in a single week.
2029: The new Austin Convention Center is set to open, 70 percent larger than its predecessor.

Market Landscape

The Capitol View Corridor rules have long shaped downtown Austin's height limits to preserve sightlines to the Texas Capitol. Project Bolo tests whether those limits will bend for high-end mixed-use development as nearby demand rises.

Austin residents and downtown property owners could see a taller skyline and new hotel and condo supply if the rezoning is approved. The project also sits near the planned convention center redevelopment that may boost hotel demand.

The takeaway

Height rezoning requests in protected view corridors are worth watching closely, since approval would signal how Austin balances growth against skyline protections.