Dozens of residents inside The Residences at ATX Tower on West Sixth Street say they are living with water damage, repeated power outages, broken elevators and trash piling up in hallways — despite paying rents that stretch from roughly $2,600 to more than $10,000 a month. Several tenants have sent photos and videos documenting the problems, and some are now weighing whether to break their leases entirely.
The complaints, first detailed by CBS Austin, describe a building far from the polished image its developers have promoted since it opened. One resident's apartment shows visible water damage, with water audibly rushing behind the wall near the affected area, according to the station's reporting. Residents also told the outlet they've dealt with nonworking trash chutes, with the chute door routinely failing to open and trash piling up in the trash room, creating what one resident called a terrible, horrible smell.
Power Outages and AC Failures Take a Toll
Beyond the mess, residents describe repeated power outages and cooling failures that have disrupted daily life. One anonymous resident told the station that an air conditioning failure caused multiple sleepless nights because the apartment grew unbearably hot. Building staff have at times provided food or vouchers during some of these problems, per the same account, but residents say that gesture has not made up for the sheer number of issues piling up.
Several residents asked CBS Austin to conceal their identities, saying they feared retaliation for speaking out. One resident described the building as becoming unlivable, and others say they now question whether a relatively new tower can rack up this many reported problems so quickly. An anonymous resident summed up the frustration simply, telling the station that residents expect basic things to be taken care of, and that they should be able to trust that the building they pay for was built correctly.
A Building With a Troubled Track Record
The interior complaints follow a rockier history for the 58-story, roughly 670-foot skyscraper. Developed as a joint venture between Tishman Speyer and Ryan Companies, and designed by Handel Architects and Page, ATX Tower topped out in mid-2024 and delivered in 2025 with 368 luxury rental apartments stacked above office space. Before residents ever moved in, the tower experienced at least four separate incidents of falling glass panels within a four-month span in 2025, according to USGlass Magazine, repeatedly forcing police to close surrounding downtown streets.
One of those failures, in June 2025, shattered on West Sixth Street and damaged two vehicles, prompting Ryan Companies to install an emergency covered sidewalk canopy around the building's perimeter, as reported by KVUE. City development officials and contractors launched third-party investigations into the curtainwall glass failures at the time. In October 2025, an Austin couple filed a personal injury lawsuit against Ryan Companies after they were struck and injured by falling glass near the tower that March, reporting cuts and eye irritation, per KVUE's reporting.
Residents Now Raise Concerns About Windows Too
That history has resurfaced as current residents raise their own concerns about windowpanes and panels falling, on top of the water, electrical and trash problems already documented inside their units. Some residents fear potential black mold and additional electrical hazards could pose a real danger, according to residents who spoke with CBS Austin. Most of the residents interviewed by the station pay around $4,000 a month in rent for units in a building that received its certificate of occupancy after required building inspections, Austin's Development Services department has said.
The city has pushed back on claims that conditions are unsafe. Code compliance inspectors responded to two complaints and found no code violations during their property visits, with the city saying the issues in question had already been repaired by the time inspectors arrived. Residents, however, say that response doesn't match what they've experienced day to day, and many are requesting additional scrutiny of the building beyond the two inspections conducted so far.
Residents Push for Independent Inspection
Frustrated by what they see as an inadequate response, residents have floated their own proposal: a full inspection of the building carried out by a third-party inspector, with a requirement that the building be brought up to code. They say they simply want confirmation that the building is safe to live in, given the sheer scale of what they describe as an unreliable and unpredictable living experience. Some residents are considering leaving altogether, while others want reimbursement or release from their leases.
Austin City Councilmember Zohaib “Zo” Qadri, whose District 9 covers the downtown corridor where the tower sits, was unavailable for an interview, his office told CBS Austin. Qadri has previously called for public safety accountability following the 2025 glass-falling incidents at the tower, according to USGlass Magazine's earlier reporting. His office is now encouraging residents experiencing problems to report them through Austin 311, which is intended to document concerns and route them to city staff for investigation.
Legal Options Are Limited for Frustrated Tenants
Texas law gives renters some leverage, but with strict limits. Under Texas Property Code Section 92.056, residential landlords have a legal obligation to make diligent efforts to repair conditions that materially affect an ordinary tenant's physical health or safety once they receive formal written notice, according to Justia Law, with landlords generally presumed to have about seven days to act. But Texas Law Help warns that tenants cannot simply withhold monthly rent as leverage for unmade repairs — doing so can trigger eviction proceedings. Tenants seeking remedies instead have to issue formal statutory notices or file a repair-and-remedy suit in Justice Court.
Day-to-day leasing and resident services at the building are handled by RPM Living, a national property management firm working alongside developers Tishman Speyer and Ryan Companies, according to the property's own listings. The tower's lower floors also include 140,000 square feet of office space anchored by PNC Bank, which established a signature branch and regional footprint there, as Hoodline previously reported.
ATX Tower is not alone in facing this kind of scrutiny. In Denver, residents of the 25-story SkyHouse tower have organized to document simultaneous elevator outages that forced some to haul belongings up 19 flights of stairs, alongside uncollected trash and service reductions, Hoodline reported. For now, CBS Austin says it will continue seeking answers from the companies involved with ATX Tower and from city officials as residents wait to see whether their push for an independent inspection gains traction.
