Developers broke ground last month on a new high-rise student apartment complex in West Campus set to replace Nueces Place Condominiums, which was demolished Aug. 24.

With 26 stories, Nueces Tower will be one of the tallest structures in West Campus, compared to Waterloo with 30 stories and Skyloft with 18. The tower will have 378 units, said Jeff Patterson, Austin Housing and Planning Committee spokesperson.

Nueces Place, a condominium complex managed by 24th Street Realty, was demolished to make room for the new tower after standing in West Campus for 42 years, according to the real estate website HAR.com.

Nueces Tower broke ground at 2206 Nueces Street shortly after demolition and is expected to be completed by early Sept. 2023, according to the proposed work schedule. The complex is in early developmental stages now as construction crews begin to dig out the foundation of the building, the schedule says.

Student housing is becoming a crisis as old buildings in West Campus are replaced with luxury housing and apartment buildings increase prices without losing demand, according to previous reporting by the Texan. According to a listing on 24th Street Realty’s website, the monthly rate for a one bedroom unit at Nueces Place was $750 per month — far less than the median West Campus housing price of $944 a month.

Project managers for the complex did not provide information on unit pricing in Nueces Tower.

The complex is not expected to rise over 294 feet, according to construction plans. Due to limitations put in place by the University Neighborhood Overlay Plan, a 2004 initiative that creates affordable housing and increased zoning density in West Campus, most West Campus apartments are less than 300 feet tall.