A new boutique hotel and condominium property broke ground Friday in Austin’s Second Street District.

Austin Proper Hotel and Residences is a 32-story, 500,000 square-foot building designed by Handel Architects at 202 Nueces St., Austin, the former site of the Thomas C. Green Water Treatment Plant.

Once complete, the residential development will include 99 condominium residences, 10 penthouses, 244 hotel rooms, a spa and fitness center, a rooftop pool, a restaurant, meeting rooms and a club center.

Prices range from $600,000 for a one-bedroom unit to nearly $8 million for a five-bedroom, two-story penthouse.

The interior is designed by Kelly Wearstler, whose style is described as "raw and refined."

Chefs Tom Moorman and Larry McGuire—who manage Lamberts Downtown Barbeque, Perla's Seafood & Oyster Bar, Elizabeth Street Cafe, Clark's Oyster Bar, Josephine House and Jeffrey's Restaurant & Bar—serve as local Austin Proper partners and are planning two restaurants—one of which will be Latin-themed—a neighborhood coffee shop, a sunken bar and a take-out spot. They'll also be running the complex's in-room dining services and the hotel's banquet programs.

The hotel and residential complex, which is managed by The Kor Group, is slated to open in early 2018. Tripp DuBois, The Kor Group's vice president of sales and marketing, said almost 50 percent of the units are already sold, including six of the 10 penthouses.

The California-based hotel concept markets as a "grand hotel with the benefits of home ownership," with exclusive amenities like a doorman and concierge, a sundeck with outdoor kitchen, a pet grooming facility and a parking garage.

On the hotel side, Austin Proper promises a lobby restaurant, coffee shop, fitness center, spa and public and private meeting spaces.

Austin Proper joins several other developments in the area, including The Independent—a 58-story residential complex that started construction in January at Third Street and West Avenue and is expected to be completed in 2018—and the Seaholm Residential Tower at the former site of the Seaholm power plant, which was completed earlier this summer.

Austin Proper
208 Colorado St., Austin
512-384-1387
www.liveaustinproper.com