JAVA-SEPT-2016

old, lively and classy art. Though there are more and more co-work
spaces in Phoenix, Larkin feels that the McKinley Club offers a unique
angle. “What’s different is that this is more of a community space. The
people who are working here are almost all creatives. Everybody feeds off
each other. Yet, it’s very diverse as far as the types of businesses here,”
said Larkin.
In terms of creative process, Celine says hers varies from project to
project. However, one of the consistent aspects of branding any concept is
finding out what its story is. “That is the most important thing to me,” says
Rille. I looked at [former President] McKinley’s life story. We picked one of
his sisters and created a dialogue around her. Once I had the story, then I
created the visuals for it. Everything always comes back to that story. It’s
rooted in there to make it meaningful, rather than just look pretty.”
“The most rewarding thing is how it’s brought the downtown community
together,” said Rille. “People come there wanting to commune. We’ve had
several fundraising events. We’ve had gay weddings, straight weddings. I
love standing back and looking at a room full of people together. That’s the
biggest thing to me.” This all ties back into Rille wanting to help create a
city where she wants to live. The McKinley Club is in many ways an
incubator where people make connections and try to reach that same goal:
Make Phoenix exceptional.
Roland’s Market represents Rille’s vision and drive. Located near 15th
Street and Van Buren, the 1917 building was originally a Chinese market,
back when Phoenix had a substantial Chinatown. A man by the name of
Roland purchased it in 1941 and turned it into a restaurant to serve the
Chinese population. Despite having multiple owners over the decades, a
lot of the bones of the building are still intact.
Celine and her partners are currently working to return the building
to functional condition. It’s a little too soon for it to become a restaurant
or bar, even though historic spaces are in high demand. Rille believes it
will initially best serve as an office space for a unique tenant. “Once this
becomes more of a walkable neighborhood, we will consider other uses.
Right now, we are ahead of the curve, so we have to be patient for the
time being,” said Rille.
Rille enjoys the process of uncovering history and bringing places back to
life, which is helping push Phoenix forward. “It’s cool to be able to go into
parts of the city that need help. We try to breathe the life back in, which is
great for neighborhoods,” said Rille.
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