Unleasable Space Next to Parking Garage Finds its Niche as Creative Office

Unusual spaces in and around commercial buildings can be difficult to lease. That was certainly the case at Domain Northside, a mixed-use project in Austin, Texas, that featured an underutilized space adjacent to a pedestrian breezeway.

This block of oddly configured space, measuring roughly 9,500 square feet, was situated in a lightly used corridor that linked a five-level parking garage to a retail area.

The space was initially marketed to retail users, but with no street frontage and minimal foot traffic, it wasn’t conducive to that type of tenant. “It was the last piece [of the development] that we couldn’t get traction on,” explained Ryan Muscott, development manager at Northwood Retail, the firm behind the leasing and development of Domain Northside. The mixed-use project features about 600,000 square feet of retail, 200,000 square feet of office, 500 multifamily units and 120 hotel rooms.

With input from Mark Odom Studio, an architecture firm based in Austin, the developer decided to market the space as office to “creative” companies such as marketing, technology, or design firms. To make the awkward space easier for prospective tenants to visualize, developer Northwood Retail speculatively built it out, ultimately transforming the area into a 9,468-square-foot office for video game development company Ink Games.

“[Northwood Retail] often calls us when they have something a little abnormal or complex, because we really enjoy those projects,” said Mark Odom, founder and associate at Mark Odom Studio. “It was sizeable square footage, and they knew that it wasn’t going to make them money sitting there, so they had to figure out what to do with it.”

The space offered interesting elements such as high ceilings at unique angles that reached 16 to 20 feet, but with no natural light or electricity to power lights, it was simply a cavernous, dark shell. “It was really hard for any office user to visualize that space,” said Odom. “But it was really interesting because it was a long and narrow space.”

Bringing in natural light was “the biggest challenge,” as well as the most exciting element, Odom said, especially since there is a five-level parking garage adjacent to the space.

“The connection to daylight is huge in many different ways and especially here in Austin because we are an outdoor community,” Odom said. Windows were installed in an existing, non-structural wall to make the space feel less cavernous, and the team tore down the entire back wall and replaced it with floor-to-ceiling glass, creating access to natural light and opening up to what’s now a private courtyard for Ink Games employees. “We really tried to capitalize on the limited natural light that was going to be coming in,” Odom said.

Not only does the courtyard allows light to filter in, but it also serves as a retreat and is another bonus for Ink Games employees.

“We turned a mechanical yard into what is [now] Ink Games’ little courtyard with their cornhole games and lounge seating; what used to be essentially a yard for mechanical uses turned into a cool and beautiful courtyard,” said Muscott.

Muscott added that the courtyard is his favorite part of the project. “How many office tenants can say that they have their own backyard or courtyard to their office space that’s solely dedicated to them, not visible from any vantage points and all that? That’s a unique thing,” he said.

The task for Mark Odom Studio was to create a space that was divided, finished and move-in ready. “We space planned, selected furniture, and did all of the interiors and lighting, so when the potential tenant walked through it, they could understand how they would use it,” Odom said.

After the open plan layout was complete and the windows and front door were installed, “inquiries really started to come in,” Muscott said.

The front door wall has floor-to-ceiling etched glass windows to enhance privacy. The Ink Games office opens to an entry lounge, rather than a reception desk.

Most employees work in the middle of the office space, where the open plan seating is near the natural light. “We really tried to minimize the number of walls in the space to have natural light flow through the whole [area],” Odom said. Private offices and conference rooms were pushed towards the back of the office, as they didn’t need as much natural light for everyday use.

“Each side has large windows to add daylight, and then on the dark side opposite, there are these small meeting nooks that can house one or two people for a breakaway space,” Odom said. There is also a living room with a sofa and large televisions for developers to see and work on their game designs.

To brand the space, Ink Games added a few key elements such as a graffiti wall in the courtyard by Texas muralist Tarbox and a nerf gun wall. They also added lights that change colors throughout the day, and many video screens.

“I have to give them a lot of credit,” Muscott said. “We wanted to provide as much of a blank space as possible to that future tenant while also providing some pretty cool designs, but they really took it to the next level, incorporating a lot of their brand into every component of that office, whether it’s the break room area or the nerf gun wall.”

Securing an office tenant for the Domain Northside mixed-use project was a worthwhile decision. “A mixed-use environment is so popular these days because the uses are symbiotic,” Muscott said. Office users want to have restaurants and coffeeshops nearby and retailers are happy to have a customer base in their backyard. The walkability factor is an important one, as office workers can grab a cup of coffee or lunch nearby or have an impromptu happy hour.

“It’s really a 24/7 place, there is no dead time,” Muscott said. “That’s a huge selling point for a lot of office users, to provide their employees with this in their backyard. They don’t have to get in a car to get lunch, and some of them even live on site, so you really can live, work and play all in one spot.”

The mixed-use environment is resonating with Ink Games, so much so that according to Muscott, the company is growing and looking for additional space at the Domain Northside project.

“When we initially came up with the scheme for this building, a lot of people were like ‘ok, this might be a little too far-fetched’, but it proved to be a great use for this space,” Muscott said. “I would also add that you can’t replicate this [type of adaption] everywhere, it must be unique and special and have the traffic and demand there to make it work. Fortunately, we have that at Domain Northside.”