21c Promises Approachable Art

The group of large, bright pink snails — an “escargatoire” — that invaded downtown Bentonville last month serves as a hint of what the 21c Museum Hotel going up nearby will bring to the community.

The 100,000-SF, four-story building under construction at 200 N.E. A St. remains on track to open early next year, said Craig Greenberg, president of the boutique hotel group.

On a recent visit to Bentonville from Louisville, Ky., home of the original 21c Museum Hotel, Greenberg said work is progressing on schedule. The hotel’s 104 rooms, on the second through fourth floors, are drywalled and being finished out.

The brick exterior will be completed in a couple of weeks, he said, and work has begun on the parking garage, which will be finished by year’s end.

“It’s taking shape really nicely,” he said. “It’s going to be a wonderful hotel inside and out.”

The new hotel’s not far from the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. But the hotel’s general manager, Emmanuel Gardinier, explains that the philosophy behind the 21c brand is making art accessible to the community in a unique way.

“We want art to be approachable,” he said. “We want everyone to come in and enjoy it, whether or not you understand it.

“Sometimes people feel a little uncomfortable around art, but it’s a different experience when you’re sitting in a restaurant, for instance, having coffee.”

The hotel’s exhibition space will be open to the public round the clock, at no charge, so anyone can come in and enjoy it, he said.

Gardinier was hired in June. While construction continues on the hotel, he’s working out of its pre-opening office at 207 N.E. Second St.

The office includes a gallery space with contemporary art from the 21c collection.

Gardinier, who has more than 25 years experience managing luxury and branded properties, will oversee hotel operations, sales, and community and guest relations. During construction, though, he’s busy planning myriad details and putting together a management team.

He’s already hired a head chef for the 9,000-SF restaurant. Little Rock native Matthew McClure will develop a menu using local, seasonal produce.

Also, Rick Reed is the hotel’s director of sales and marketing. A room director will be on board in late October, and a chief engineer will start in December, Gardinier said.

That’s also when the bulk of the hiring will be done for the 150 to 160 positions, he said. Job fairs will be held in Fayetteville and Bentonville to help fill those posts.

Valued at $28 million, the hotel on 2.44 acres just off the downtown square will feature a fitness center, business center and more than 12,000 SF of exhibition, meeting and event space. Tying into art tourism from Crystal Bridges, the hotel will present curated, rotating art exhibitions and live art events.

It’s been two years since Steve Wilson and his wife, Laura Lee Brown, owners of the 21c Museum Hotel in Louisville, announced plans to build a Bentonville location in conjunction with the Walton family and the nonprofit Bentonville Revitalization Inc.

Bentonville’s 21c will be much like the flagship hotel, officials say.

It was designed by the same architect, Deborah Berke & Partners of New York.

One feature yet to be decided, though, is the color of the trademark penguins that populate each 21c hotel.

The Louisville hotel has red penguins, and the ones in the soon-to-be-completed Cincinnati location will be blue.

Gardinier said they’ll hold a contest, possibly on Facebook, this fall to determine the color. The contest won’t conflict with the November elections, he promised.

“Red and blue are taken, so our penguins won’t be political,” he joked.