Creative Design Meets Today’s Lifestyle: Behind Austin’s Station at St. Elmo
Architect Mark Odom on this community's atypical use of space and how it fits into the Warehouse District's local scene.
As Austin continues to evolve as a dynamic urban hub, architectural innovation plays a crucial role in shaping the city’s future. In the Warehouse District, a downtown neighborhood that was once an industrial area along a former railroad, contemporary functionality blends with industrial-style finishes at The Station at St. Elmo. This mixed-use multifamily project was developed by Ledgestone DG and completed in late 2023.
“Austin’s urban landscape is very competitive and it’s always evolving in terms of aesthetics and amenities,” said Mark Odom Studio Principal Mark Odom, who served as design architect for The Station at St. Elmo project.
The 136-unit community includes both live-work rental apartments and for-sale condominiums, as well as a rain garden, car charging stations, a swimming pool, a fitness center, a dog park, resident office space and retail space, all spread throughout the building’s four floors. How do all these features work together under the same roof? Odom expands in this interview.
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What inspired your architectural concept for The Station at St. Elmo, particularly the blend of live-work units with traditional condos?
Odom: The Station at St. Elmo is about the urban lifestyle with a focus on community made up of different individuals with a range of ways that they like to curate their own lifestyle. The design plan was about giving choices to each resident while also thinking about the masses. There are several different unit types that speak to different modes of living. Some were delivered based on lifestyle and economics while others provide a live-work environment—all catering to individuals and lifestyle.
Why did you design each floor with a unique amenity and how do you expect residents to engage with each of these spaces?
Odom: Designing each floor with its own flavored amenity was crucial to our concept and how we think about multifamily development. We believe that amenities should be broken down into smaller manageable zones sprinkled through the project like hidden jewels, rather than large amenity zones that focus on the masses. Thinking of each floor as a smaller group within the larger community structure, we felt that the amenity per floor created an opportunity to meet the immediate neighbor in a more intimate setting.
The Station at St. Elmo features 136 condos in Austin’s up-and-coming Warehouse District. All images courtesy of JP Morales 
The Station at St. Elmo includes studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom floorplans, with units ranging between 652 and 2092 square feet. 
The outside area includes courtyards with grilling stations. 
The swimming pool has various seating options.
Can you elaborate on your decision to open up the building massing toward the back and how this impacts the resident experience compared to more traditional layouts?
Odom: The typical donut plan—where you can’t see the horizon—is something we try to eliminate if possible. Typically, amenities are grouped in the center of the donut with vertical walls surrounding and views directly to the sky.
We choose to think of the anti-donut scheme as a way to create wellness to a large-scale room that could potentially occupy every individual in the development. Creating views to the horizon, much like windows in a small bedroom, will give more positive feedback to one’s health and wellness.
How did the project’s location and emerging community influence your design plan?
Odom: Context with its surroundings in mind are crucial on all projects. The emerging Warehouse District played a key role in the aesthetics of the building as well as its walkability and connectivity from all directions. We imagined future adjacent developments that will have connectivity through walking paths or bike lanes and how those may connect and interact in the future.
What trends do you see influencing condo and mixed-use developments over the next few years?
Odom: We hope that the trends that we’ve established here for community, individual and wellness continue to hold and are allowed to advance further. Layered on top of what we’ve already established, I believe our next realm of influence will be affordability, sustainability and potentially modularity.
Multifamily development has been stuck in a realm of doing the same because it works and it pencils. It’s time to rethink the model as a collective group and put the focus back on the community, quality and sustainable lifespan of the building.
Are there any innovative materials or construction techniques you’re excited to incorporate into your future developments?
Odom: I believe that the real advancement will be more in the methods of construction versus aesthetic skins. We have been trying to find a developer to buy into cross laminated timber construction because of its sustainability, quicker methods for assembly and aesthetics of using the structure as a feature.
To what extent does Austin’s evolving urban landscape shape the way you approach design?
Odom: To make sure we’re current within the market is a blessing as it keeps us continuously striving for unique and better. I believe that Austin culture is higher on our list of positive attributes that we care to design toward: Austin culture is about activity, outdoors, community, modern and taking risks while having fun in a laid back way.
How do you expect demand for condo living to evolve in Austin and how might that influence your future architectural projects?
Odom: The market is not friendly to multifamily deals right now. However, we know this will change slowly and hope that placemaking with intent, versus quick and fast, will take precedence.
