What Rhodes Partners does

Rhode Partners Inc. is a privately held architecture, master planning, and interior design firm founded in 2007 by Brett Rhode and headquartered in Austin, Texas. The firm operates with a team of more than 20 professionals and delivers services across three primary verticals: high-rise residential, purpose-built student housing, and hospitality, with a smaller mixed-use practice. Its client base is concentrated among real estate developers, student housing operators, and hospitality brands, and the firm is structurally organized as an equity partnership, having expanded its partner bench in October 2022 with the promotions of Bobby Tait and Kate Meehan to Partner and Natalie Andrus to Associate Partner.

The firm generates revenue through professional services fees tied to project scope, billed under standard architecture agreements against construction cost or fixed fees; engagement is typically referral-driven and relationship-based rather than transactional. Its technical stack relies on industry-standard building information modeling and documentation tools, including Revit and ArchiCAD, with sustainability and LEED-accredited design capability evidenced by The Independent, a 58-story LEED Gold-certified residential tower in Austin. Marquee works include The Independent, multiple Villas-branded student housing towers, The Loren at Lady Bird Lake, The Loren at Lover's Beach, and the Block 32 dual-tower joint venture with developer Manifold.

Rhode Partners has positioned itself as a design-led firm targeting landmark commissions, with marquee visibility through AIA, CTBUH, and ULI recognition as well as Forbes coverage. Its go-to-market is anchored by repeat developer relationships (Villas Student Housing, Sardis Developments, Reger Holdings, Pinecrest, Student Quarters, Parallel) and selectively extended into adjacent geographies and asset classes, including Tennessee student housing and Caribbean hospitality at The Loren at Turtle Cove. The firm combines pure-fee architecture work with at least one equity-adjacent developer partnership, signaling a willingness to participate in deal economics when strategically aligned with its core practice.

Name

Rhodes Partners

Legal name

Rhode Partners Inc.

Website

https://rhodepartners.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Rhode Partners is an Austin-based architecture, master planning, and interior design firm founded in 2007 that serves real estate developers, student housing operators, and hospitality brands across high-rise residential, student housing, and hospitality projects in Texas, Tennessee, and the Caribbean.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Bethesda

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Architecture and Interior Design Services: Professional services revenue generated through master planning, architecture, and interior design services for civic, multi-family, hotel, office and retail projects. The firm charges professional fees for design services across all project phases.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Rhode Partners is a full-service architecture firm providing master planning, architecture, and interior design services for civic, multi-family residential, hotel, office, and retail projects. The firm specializes in high-rise residential towers, student housing, boutique hotels, and mixed-use developments, delivering projects that balance aesthetic design excellence with practical construction economics. Professional fees are charged for design services across all project phases from concept through construction documentation.

Product overview

Rhode Partners is an award-winning full-service architecture firm providing master planning, architecture, and interior design services. The firm's portfolio consists of architectural design projects spanning multiple building types including high-rise residential towers, student housing, boutique hotels, and mixed-use developments. Major projects include The Independent (58-story LEED Gold residential tower), The Loren at Lady Bird Lake (mixed-use hotel and residence), The Loren at Turtle Cove (Caribbean luxury resort), The Linden (luxury condominiums), Villas on 24th (student housing), Floodgate (River Walk tower), and numerous other student housing and multifamily projects primarily in Texas, with expansion into other markets including Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Oklahoma. The firm operates from Austin, TX and serves clients across university markets and urban environments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architecture Design Services Full architectural design services for civic, multi-family residential, hotel, hospitality, office, and retail projects, delivered from concept through construction documentation. Clients engage Rhode Partners for landmark high-rise residential towers, mixed-use developments, boutique hotels, and civic architecture, primarily in Texas with expansion to Tennessee and the Caribbean.
• Interior Design Services Interior design services integrated with architectural projects, covering hospitality venues, residential towers, student housing amenity spaces, and civic interiors. Led by senior interior designers within the firm, this service is delivered as part of full-service engagements for developers, hospitality brands, and institutional clients.
• Master Planning Services Master planning services for civic, multi-family, hotel, office, and retail developments, supporting developers and institutional clients with site planning, programming, and entitlement strategy for large-scale and mixed-use projects.

Quantifiable outcome

• Villas on 24th achieved 100% pre-leased before opening and sold successfully prior to move-ins
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and strategic.

• DCI EngineerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing structural engineering partnership on major high-rise projects. Collaborated on The Independent tower (58-story), presenting case studies together at CTBUH conferences. Kris Swanson from DCI Engineers presented with Brett Rhode on The Independent project.
• Rogers O'BriencoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerGeneral contractor partnership on major projects including Villas on 24th student housing tower and 201 Church Avenue project in College Station.
• Hoar ConstructioncoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerContractor partner for multiple hotel projects including The Loren at Lady Bird Lake and Icon student housing tower. Brett Rhode worked with Hoar's Matt Tumminia on preconstruction partnerships.
• Bartlett CockemajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerGeneral contractor for The Linden luxury residential tower project.
• Rycon ConstructionmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerGeneral contractor for The Penny student housing project in College Station.
• Skybeck ConstructionmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerContractor for Starlight apartment project in East Austin.
• RLG Consulting EngineersmajorTechnology or IntegrationStructural engineering partner for The Penny and other student housing projects.
• Villas Student HousingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term development partner on multiple award-winning student housing projects including Villas on Rio, Villas on 24th, and Villas Knoxville. Collaboration on projects in Austin and expansion to new markets.
• PinecrestcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDevelopment partner for The Penny student housing project in College Station.
• Student QuartersmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDevelopment partner for Villas Knoxville student housing project near University of Tennessee.
• ParallelmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeveloper partner for 201 Church Avenue student housing tower in College Station's Northgate district.
• ManifoldstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirst collaboration on Block 32 dual tower project in Austin - a strategic partnership for a major downtown development.
• Reger HoldingscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOwner/developer of The Linden luxury residential project in Austin's Museum District.
• Council on Vertical Urbanism (CVU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRhode Partners' Founding Director Brett Rhode serves as Austin Chair to CTBUH/CVU Texas Chapter. Hosted CVU Americas Conference in Austin. Presented case studies on The Independent.
• Sardis DevelopmentscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing client and development partner for The Loren hotel brand - designed both The Loren at Lady Bird Lake and The Loren at Turtle Cove.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Page: Austin-headquartered, multi-discipline architecture and engineering firm with comparable civic, multifamily, healthcare, and education project exposure across Texas. Closest geographic and practice-mix peer.
• Handel Architects: New York-based architecture firm specializing in tall residential towers and large-scale mixed-use development — directly comparable in typology (high-rise residential, mixed-use) and developer clientele.
• SB Architects: Hospitality- and residential-focused architecture firm with branded residences, resorts, and mixed-use projects. Strong overlap with Rhode Partners' hospitality/residential practice and project typologies.
• Steinberg Hart: Architecture firm with mixed-use, residential, hospitality, and student housing practices across the western U.S. — closely comparable in project typology mix and developer client base.
• Morris Adjmi Architects: Design-forward architecture firm with award-winning residential, hospitality, and adaptive reuse work. Comparable as a boutique, design-credibility-led practice pursuing premium developer commissions.
• WATG: Global hospitality and resort architecture firm whose boutique hotel, branded residence, and luxury resort work closely mirrors Rhode Partners' Loren portfolio and design-led hospitality positioning.
• Lake|Flato Architects: San Antonio-based architecture firm with a comparable Texas footprint, hospitality and residential portfolio, and strong design reputation. Highly comparable in scale, regional base, and project mix (resort, civic, multifamily).

Broad incumbents

• HKS: Large Dallas-headquartered architecture practice with broad portfolios across hospitality, residential, healthcare, and sports. Overlaps with Rhode Partners on hospitality and large developer-led commissions but operates at significantly greater scale.
• Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF): Global tall-buildings and mixed-use architecture firm; directly comparable to Rhode Partners on high-rise residential and mixed-use typologies (e.g., The Independent class), though at substantially larger scale and global reach.
• Gensler: Global design firm covering hospitality, residential, mixed-use, and commercial developments. Comparable at the project-typology level but operates as a broad incumbent with much larger scale and service breadth.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rhode-partners

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments3 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rhodes Partners