Todd Patrick of Replay Destinations, front, describes Ascent at the Phoenician during a recent sales event. (Photo courtesy of Grace Marcellino)
Sharing History Condo complex and museum forge fruitful union
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By Alex Gallagher partnership between the Ascent at the Phoenician and Scottsdale Museum of the West is starting to bear fruit. As work begins on the Mountain Club at Ascent, developers have relied on museum leaders as they incorporate into the building an homage to the venerable Jokake Inn. The Mountain Club includes Ascent’s pool and fitness amenities. Tucked against the mountain, its “architecture is reminiscent of the Jokake Inn,”
says Todd Patrick, the vice president of sales and marketing for developer Replay Destinations, which has an office in the Airpark. “We wanted to build a modern interpretation of the Jokake Inn, which has ties to the adobe architecture.” Replay Destinations tries to incorporate the history of the area into its properties and turned to the Museum of the West to ensure Ascent echoes of the Jokake Inn, which opened as a tearoom in 1926 and began accommodating overnight guests two years later. Enter the now-2-year-old partnership between Replay Destinations and the Museum of the West. “This is a partnership that rightfully is with multiple beneficiaries, including the museum, Replay Destinations and its many new residents,” says Mike Fox, museum chief executive officer and director.
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“I am certain many of the new residents come from backgrounds and interests in the arts and culture that will be stimulating and even expanding for us associated with the museum, too.” Replay Destinations asked Fox to track down artifacts, letters and any other information that reflected the Jokake Inn’s history. Noting that the Jokake Inn “had a tremendous history back in the early 1900s of hospitality, resorting, art and wine,” Patrick says Fox “helped us unearth some of the artifacts, stories and context of the Evans family, who built the Jokake Inn. “From that day on, we thought there would be a tremendous opportunity to partner on something,” he adds. Fox says the partnership has helped him promote his efforts to keep the history of the west alive outside of the museum’s walls. “This has always been my mantra in
