Deutchman

Size: 10,200 GSF
Owner: Colina West Real Estate

Originally a makeshift plumbing supply warehouse in what was once an industrial area of south Austin, this building’s location is very desirable for creative office/mixed-use development, due to its close proximity to Austin’s Central Business District and burgeoning South 1^st Street arts district. However, new construction on site would have triggered site development requirements and permitting that would make the project unfeasible.

To facilitate adaptive re-use of the existing warehouse building, Leap!Structures devised a retrofit structural system and construction methodology that allowed a new, reinforced concrete and structural steel framework to be installed from within and to re-support existing exterior bearing walls and roof, such that all interior, load-bearing wood stud walls could be removed while leaving original façade and roof framing intact. This creative structural engineering solution allowed the project to be classified as an interior remodel project and streamline an otherwise burdensome permitting process, while providing the architectural design team with an open canvas to completely reinvent and affordably repurpose the old Deutchman Plumbing Supply building.