Art collaborative Meow Wolf and developer True North Studio have partnered to bring a hotel and interactive arts venue to downtown Phoenix that will take guests on a colorful and whimsical adventure.
The project will include an exhibition area and a music and performance venue, according to a statement. Meow Wolf’s trippy art style will be integrated into the rooms for guests. The hotel’s size is not finalized yet, but the planned size is approximately 250 feet tall with 400 rooms, with a projected completion date of 2022. The rooms will vary between different styles, from faux glamping to hostel to luxury. There will also be lodging in the actual exhibit.
True North and Meow Wolf will each focus on their specialties for the project, which will be located at 811 through 817 N. Third Street. Meow Wolf will focus on adding style and artistic touches as True North will focus on the development side of the project.
Meow Wolf began in 2008 in Santa Fe, New Mexico as an immersive art experience. It started when a group of artists decided to collectively establish a venue in Santa Fe for art and music, and grew to more than 300 employees today.
True North Studio is a developer with offices in downtown Phoenix and Chicago. Along with the Meow Wolf project, the development company is also working on developing the Cambria Hotel, located near Roosevelt Row, along with the Ro2 project, which True North intends as a makeover for much of Roosevelt Row while allowing its art culture to flourish.
Meow Wolf immerses visitors in a surreal world where almost everything is interactive, utilizing a wide variety of art and technology mediums and techniques, including mixed reality.
In Santa Fe, Meow Wolf’s “House of Eternal Return” project encourages users to interact with everything inside the house to tell a nonlinear story. The Santa Fe location also features a restaurant and bar, performance venue and children’s learning center. The collective also has plans in the works for permanent exhibits in Denver, Washington DC and Las Vegas.
“Our intention for this venture is to collaborate with the creative community in greater Phoenix to produce an authentic, local statement of expression which will bring further excitement and creative energy to the Roosevelt Row Arts District,” Meow Wolf CEO and Co-Founder Vince Kadlubek said in a statement. “This project is going to be truly monumental on so many levels.”
True North Principal developer and founder Jonathon Vento said he wanted to bring Meow Wolf to Phoenix after visiting the Santa Fe location while on a business trip. He went on a dare with no information about Meow Wolf beforehand, and he was amazed at what he found.
After spending two hours there, Vento decided he had to talk to Meow Wolf about creating a partnership for Phoenix.
“I didn’t leave their parking lot until I got (Kadlubek’s) contact,” he said.
He said he thought an experience like Meow Wolf and a hotel would be a great combination, given True North’s affinity for building hotels and Roosevelt Row’s artsy reputation.
“I think that our main clientele is going to be people who want to stay in a really crazy hotel,” Vento said. The hotel is planned to have a music venue, bar, restaurant, and gift shop.
Steve Weiss, a member of the Downtown Voices Coalition, is looking forward to Meow Wolf coming downtown.
A couple of years ago, he originally wanted to have Meow Wolf open a location in Phoenix, but personal issues got in the way of his discussions with the city for bringing the organization downtown.
“In regards to the hotel, it was kind of a shocker because there were specific places they were talking about going,” Weiss said of Meow Wolf’s plans.
He wants to see Meow Wolf work with local artists and create something special together for the artist portion of the hotel.
Weiss also hopes Meow Wolf will work with local artists to bring temporary art projects to the lot where the hotel is planned.
Vento is most looking forward to visitors’ reactions after the hotel is open.
“Ultimately, (my favorite part of the project) is to blow people’s minds,” he said.
For questions, contact the reporter at thomas.triolo@asu.edu.
Downtown Devil's community section editor. I also write the Downtown Digest, a weekly column with things to do, with experience writing news articles and creating news videos as well. Graduating from ASU in May 2020.
