Austin | Block 185/Google Tower #2 | 594 Feet | 35 Floors | Complete

[Armybrat]

They’re gonna need some leaf blowers dust that building out.

[Riverranchdrone]

Will this improve Austin's office occupancy numbers or will it be a wash?

[GoldenBoot]

Originally Posted by Riverranchdrone

Will this improve Austin's office occupancy numbers or will it be a wash?

Good question. Considering this building is completely leased - with no attempt to sublease, I'm not sure if this building really counts as "unoccupied" even though it currently sits empty. Google is currently paying north of $50 million a year in rent in this tower.

I believe the occupancy numbers one sees are in reference to the amount of space on the market to lease (or sublease).

As another example, Facebook also has a lot of real estate leased in the CBD. And, they're going to occupy more of it. However, some of it is on the sublease market - so, that could be considered in the calculation of occupancy.

[davidtexan]

Is the building really completely empty? I could've sworn I saw some activity, with the office build out completed for a few of the lower office floors which are lit up at dusk. Most of the floors are definitely completely bare. They've also got security at the front desk every day with badge reader turnstile gates in the lobby.

The scene over at Meta's office at 6G is dreary compared to Google's presence at the Sail tower. The real questions are whether they're leaving their existing office at 500 W 2nd and if will they move the big G sign over.

[papertowelroll]

They are not leaving 500 W 2nd, they are moving out of the building underneath Target on East 5th.

[clubtokyo]

This will add some major activation to downtown! Also who the heck would not want to work in this beautful building with great views?!

[davidtexan]

Scaffolding is up on the sidewalk and right lane of W Cesar Chavez is blocked off for two boom lifts. I got excited wondering if this meant they are installing a Google sign, but seems like they are removing window trim above the loading dock entrance to add a "loading dock entrance" sign.

I searched and couldn't find a permit with more details, but I did find a permit for sign installation next door at the Central Library.

[Urbannizer]

https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/...ower-downtown-atx-office-space-tech.html

Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG), signed a full-building lease at the 35-story, 804,000-square-foot Sail Tower at 601 W. Second St. in 2019. Even though the building was completed in 2022, Google didn’t start moving into the tower until late 2025, and it only occupied the first four floors.

But now the tech giant is gearing up to occupy more space in the tower, just a week after it announced in a blog post that its Sail Tower office was officially open.

An Aug. 11 filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation called for tenant improvements for 68,875 square feet of space at the Sail Tower. A Google representative confirmed that the renovations are for additional workspace floors for Google.

Work on the project, which is estimated to cost $25 million, will begin imminently. The estimated start date for the work is Aug. 14, and it’s expected to be complete on May 17, 2027.

With the tower officially open, it’s not clear how much space Google is occupying now. But it has at least one neighbor in the building to which it is subleasing space. A May 2025 TDLR filing pointed to Digital Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: DLR) subleasing 11,199 square feet of space in the tower. Digital Realty Trust never confirmed the sublease, but it now lists its Austin address as 601 W. 2nd St.