1221 Broadway

A transformative adaptive reuse development, 1221 Broadway is a catalyst for urban and neighborhood revitalization in downtown San Antonio. For ten years, a vacant and heavily vandalized building shell occupied a high-profile site on a primary thoroughfare in San Antonio. Lake Flato identified the potential for the three city blocks to become a hub for downtown living and creatively adapted the existing concrete superstructure. In addition to renovating over 300 living units, the project provides office and retail space on Broadway Street, while five interior courtyards link urban living with nature, providing forums for outdoor activity.

In collaboration with LPA

Repurposing this concrete ruin into a dynamic 410,000 sq. ft. enclave for housing, offices, and retail space demanded a resourceful design. Poured in-place concrete load-bearing walls made the structure difficult to transform, but a succession of open courts and plazas emerged from the voids in the concrete frame to link occupants to the outdoors. Interior spaces spill outside into plazas, courtyards, and gardens to foster community and connection to nature. Repurposing the structure saved 12 million kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent.

19 buildings were transformed in two phases. Phase one renovated 300 existing apartments and five courtyards, re-skinned existing buildings, and made windows larger to allow more natural daylight into apartments. The floor plans of 28 different unit types were modified from the previous site’s plans. Phase two renovated retail, office, and living space along Broadway, creating a new pedestrian corridor.

All circulation for the complex is outdoors on single-loaded cantilevered walkways linked by bridges and alleys to a five-story garage. Located on the edge of downtown along the San Antonio River, 1221 has reconnected disparate parts of the city and brought residential life downtown. 1221 has ignited the neighborhood around, inspiring over 1,000 new apartment units and condominiums and numerous restaurants, retail, and commercial projects.