Marathon Project Headed to Rosedale: Looks Like a Factory, Actually an Office

A rendering of one of the Marathon office building’s indoor-outdoor spaces at the front of the structure, with those nifty stairwells also visible. Image: OLA Architects

Marathon Boulevard might not ring your bell. It runs parallel to North Lamar Boulevard, just one block west — which is right on the edge but still inside the area I’m led to believe is okay to call Rosedale, near Medical Drive and the excellent Draught House Pub that’s been brewing beer since before it was cool in 1995. I should just show you on the map, shouldn’t I?

Looking vaguely eastward at the 4009 Marathon Boulevard site. Image: Google Maps

The .26-acre site at 4009 Marathon Boulevard seen on the map above, owned by a corporate entity associated with local real estate investor David Kahn, will soon be home to a five-story office building designed by OLA Architects.

Looking south at current progress on the 4009 Marathon site. Photo by James Rambin.

The project, which appears to simply go by Marathon, is in a fairly advanced stage of construction as we speak.

The front of the 4009 Marathon project, facing the street. Photo by James Rambin.

Kahn hasn’t responded to our requests for comment at this time, so we don’t know anything about the building’s future office tenants for now, but that doesn’t really matter — what we’re here for is the design, so this is how the building’s gonna look:

A straight-on view of the Marathon office project, looking east from this perspective. Image: OLA Architects

A street-level rendering of the Marathon office project, looking sort of northeast from this perspective. Image: OLA Architects

To call this design “warehouse-inspired” doesn’t do it justice. Lots of architects in town recognize the current popularity of industrial interior design cues, particularly in new office projects, but this building’s really committing to the bit by replicating the specific usage of reinforced concrete framing, masonry, and steel-framed casement windows present in the design of many American warehouses and factories built around the early 1900s by companies like Turner Construction.

On the left is a rendering of the 4009 Marathon office building. On the right is a historical photo of the Cheek-Neal Coffee factory in Houston, built in 1917. Images: OLA Architects / Houston Public Library

This 1929 collage of buildings designed by the Turner Construction Company shows plenty of structures that resemble the Marathon office project, but I think number 72 is a dead ringer. Click for a better view. Image: National Building Museum

Building a brand-new office intentionally designed to look like an older factory building, which to the casual observer might appear to have only been adapted after decades of industrial use, is certainly fascinating — not to mention more than a little postmodern. To me, it indicates that the common signifiers of historical context and gritty authenticity usually supplied by adaptive reuse projects of actual industrial properties can be successfully reverse-engineered, creating buildings that grant their surrounding an increased sense of place compared to more common, and arguably generic designs.

Elevations of the Marathon project showing details of its design. Image: OLA Architects

Other interior design fads for homes and offices come and go, but until Brooklyn loft conversions stop being so cool we’re going to keep seeing popular demand for industrial-style materials and fixtures. Why bother hunting down an old space to adapt when you can just buy caged pendant lamps and factory windows online?

On the left, a refurbished industrial light fixture intended for home use. On the right, a mirror designed to resemble the design of a steel-framed factory window. Images: Industrial Interior CPH / Bellacor

It’s obnoxious to care too much about authenticity in this case. Sure, we can get excited about historical context, but I think people just like this stuff because it looks cool, not because they’re necessarily familiar with early 20th century industrial vernacular architecture or whatever — either way, I’ll take this over another bland glass office or stucco mid-rise any day of the week. Plus, if Austin experiences another industrial revolution a few hundred years down the line, we can easily adapt the Marathon building into a factory.

Rosedale Homes For Sale

3903 Seiders AVE #202 , Austin

Home size: 701 sq ft
Lot size: 958 sqft
Year built: 1988

1 bed
1 bath
$1,245

4604 Oakmont BLVD , Austin

Home size: 1,208 sq ft
Lot size: 7,056 sqft
Year built: 1953

3 beds
1 bath
$2,195

4405 Shoalwood AVE #A , Austin

Home size: 952 sq ft
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Year built: 1946

2 beds
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$2,195

4116 Shoal Creek BLVD , Austin

Home size: 1,688 sq ft
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Year built: 1954

3 beds
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4208 Ramsey AVE , Austin

Home size: 2,813 sq ft
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Year built: 2004

4 beds
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4614 Oakmont BLVD , Austin

Home size: 1,560 sq ft
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$2,500

1908 W 39th ST , Austin

Home size: 1,784 sq ft
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3 beds
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3609 Lawton AVE #A , Austin

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5001 Strass DR , Austin

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4709 Shoalwood AVE , Austin

Home size: 2,965 sq ft
Lot size: 10,062 sqft
Year built: 1939

4 beds
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$1,275,000

1900 W 36th #A , Austin

Home size: 1,134 sq ft
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Year built: 1998

3 beds
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$2,100

4008 Shoal Creek BLVD #A , Austin

Home size: 1,165 sq ft
Lot size: 5,140 sqft
Year built: 1986

2 beds
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$1,875

4615 Bull Creek RD , Austin

Home size: 2,644 sq ft
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3 beds
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$1,049,990

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Home size: 2,656 sq ft
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$1,059,990

2713 W 49 1/2 ST , Austin

Home size: 3,687 sq ft
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$1,099,000

4513 Rosedale AVE , Austin

Home size: 2,593 sq ft
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Year built: 1939

3 beds
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$899,000

4806 Ramsey AVE , Austin

Home size: 930 sq ft
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Year built: 1947

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3913 Medical PKWY #101 , Austin

Home size: 350 sq ft
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0 beds
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5207 Shoal Creek BLVD , Austin

Home size: 1,481 sq ft
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Year built: 1948

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4602 Shoalwood AVE , Austin

Home size: 2,240 sq ft
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Year built: 1985

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2511 W 45th ST , Austin

Home size: 2,112 sq ft
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5012 Finley DR , Austin

Home size: 2,046 sq ft
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Year built: 2007

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1915 W 36th ST , Austin

Home size: 1,230 sq ft
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$545,000

4010 Shoal Creek BLVD #A , Austin

Home size: 1,495 sq ft
Lot size: 7,056 sqft
Year built: 1986

2 beds
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$1,995

4604 Chiappero TRL , Austin

Home size: 1,296 sq ft
Lot size: 6,838 sqft
Year built: 1953

3 beds
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$1,800

3903 Seiders AVE #202 , Austin

Home size: 701 sq ft Lot size: 958 sqft Year built: 1988

1 bed 1 bath $1,245
4604 Oakmont BLVD , Austin

Home size: 1,208 sq ft Lot size: 7,056 sqft Year built: 1953

3 beds 1 bath $2,195
4405 Shoalwood AVE #A , Austin

Home size: 952 sq ft Lot size: 6,751 sqft Year built: 1946

2 beds 1 bath $2,195
4116 Shoal Creek BLVD , Austin

Home size: 1,688 sq ft Lot size: 9,234 sqft Year built: 1954

3 beds 2 baths $949,999
4208 Ramsey AVE , Austin

Home size: 2,813 sq ft Lot size: 6,751 sqft Year built: 2004

4 beds 4 baths $985,000
4614 Oakmont BLVD , Austin

Home size: 1,560 sq ft Lot size: 6,664 sqft Year built: 1954

3 beds 2 baths $2,500
1908 W 39th ST , Austin

Home size: 1,784 sq ft Lot size: 7,056 sqft Year built: 1950

3 beds 2 baths $3,695
3609 Lawton AVE #A , Austin

Home size: 1,419 sq ft Year built: 2007

3 beds 3 baths $3,600
5001 Strass DR , Austin

Home size: 1,890 sq ft Lot size: 9,888 sqft Year built: 1954

3 beds 2 baths $2,350
4709 Shoalwood AVE , Austin

Home size: 2,965 sq ft Lot size: 10,062 sqft Year built: 1939

4 beds 3 baths $1,275,000
1900 W 36th #A , Austin

Home size: 1,134 sq ft Lot size: 7,056 sqft Year built: 1998

3 beds 2 baths $2,100
4008 Shoal Creek BLVD #A , Austin

Home size: 1,165 sq ft Lot size: 5,140 sqft Year built: 1986

2 beds 3 baths $1,875
4615 Bull Creek RD , Austin

Home size: 2,644 sq ft Lot size: 7,318 sqft Year built: 2018

3 beds 4 baths $1,049,990
4607 Bull Creek RD , Austin

Home size: 2,656 sq ft Lot size: 7,318 sqft Year built: 2018

3 beds 4 baths $1,059,990
2713 W 49 1/2 ST , Austin

Home size: 3,687 sq ft Lot size: 9,278 sqft Year built: 2018

4 beds 4 baths $1,099,000
4513 Rosedale AVE , Austin

Home size: 2,593 sq ft Lot size: 6,838 sqft Year built: 1939

3 beds 3 baths $899,000
4806 Ramsey AVE , Austin

Home size: 930 sq ft Lot size: 6,882 sqft Year built: 1947

2 beds 1 bath $510,000
3913 Medical PKWY #101 , Austin

Home size: 350 sq ft Year built: 0

0 beds 0 baths $1,000
5207 Shoal Creek BLVD , Austin

Home size: 1,481 sq ft Lot size: 12,458 sqft Year built: 1948

3 beds 2 baths $2,495
4602 Shoalwood AVE , Austin

Home size: 2,240 sq ft Lot size: 6,621 sqft Year built: 1985

4 beds 4 baths $899,000
2511 W 45th ST , Austin

Home size: 2,112 sq ft Lot size: 11,107 sqft Year built: 1955

3 beds 2 baths $624,999
5012 Finley DR , Austin

Home size: 2,046 sq ft Lot size: 6,229 sqft Year built: 2007

3 beds 3 baths $740,000
1915 W 36th ST , Austin

Home size: 1,230 sq ft Lot size: 5,967 sqft Year built: 1948

3 beds 2 baths $545,000
4010 Shoal Creek BLVD #A , Austin

Home size: 1,495 sq ft Lot size: 7,056 sqft Year built: 1986

2 beds 3 baths $1,995
4604 Chiappero TRL , Austin

Home size: 1,296 sq ft Lot size: 6,838 sqft Year built: 1953

3 beds 1 bath $1,800