In this episode of C+RB’s video series, Marcie Mills, CCM, General Manager/COO of the Scottsdale, Ariz. club, joins Erik B. Peterson, President of PHX Architecture, to describe the planning and execution of a $6 million renovation that created, among many new enhancements, a new indoor/outdoor peninsula bar with full glass sliding walls; increased casual dining space; more outdoor patio dining space with additional firepits; a private dining room; two new glass-walled wine rooms, and a modernized fitness center. “The bar has really become a hot spot. and revenues there are up 30 percent,” says Mills. “Members are really enjoying all of the new spaces and can’t get enough of them.

“The Road Ahead” video series from Club + Resort Business highlights how clubs are moving forward to create successful new programs, events and amenities and enhance the member experience.

This episode features the recent $6 million renovation and expansion successfully executed at The Mirabel Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. While it is only a 20-year-old club, and one that drew much acclaim for its facilities and property as soon as it opened, The Mirabel Club’s leadership recognized the need “to evolve with the times,” says General Manager/COO Marcie Mills, CCM, as its third decade began.

“We’d outgrown some of our space and in particular our bar, where our members really love to gather and socialize, was a little dysfunctional,” says Mills. “We also wanted to really embrace our down-valley views, to provide more of a ‘Wow’ factor.”

Mills and Erik B. Peterson, President of PHX Architecture, which led the project’s design and execution, describe how it was successfully planned and completed, even with the added challenges posed by the pandemic, to create, among the many enhancements, a new indoor/outdoor peninsula bar with full glass sliding walls; increased casual dining space; more outdoor patio dining space with additional firepits; a private dining room; two new glass-walled wine rooms, and a modernized fitness center.

Creating and adding these new features within and around Mirabel’s distinctive, prairie-style Desert Lodge clubhouse, which bears the influences of Frank Lloyd Wright and Mary Colter, might have seemed to bring extra challenges to the project. But rather than being intimated by the building’s unique features (which include 12 fireplaces), “We took inspiration [from what already existed] and allowed that to guide us,” says Peterson.

And the results have provided a new source of inspiration for Mirabel as it continues to stand out in the Scottsdale market. “Our members are over the moon [with the results],” says Mills. “The bar has really become a hot spot. and revenues there are up 30 percent. Members are really enjoying all of the new spaces and can’t get enough of them. It was a world-class renovation for a world-class club.”

(Viewing time: 10 minutes)

Video:

Previous episodes of “The Road Ahead” can be viewed at https://clubandresortbusiness.com/category/the-road-back/

An upcoming episode will feature how a prominent Washington, D.C city club persevered to find a way to introduce a wildly successful rooftop dining venue, despite the challenges and constraints posed by its building, location and the pandemic.

If you have a great idea or success story you’d like to see featured on a future episode of “The Road Back,” contact [email protected].