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A conference room in Wheelhouse II
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The kitchen and lobby of Wheelhouse II.
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A yarn installation by artist Sheryl Anaya
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HOLLAND collective's space in Wheelhouse
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HOLLAND collective's office features a yellow brick entryway.
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One of 28 Mantras by artist Brennan Bechtol
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The purple couch in Wheelhouse dates back to the 1980s. It once belonged to Susan Gruppi and Jessica Worman's parents.
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A hallway in Wheelhouse 1.
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Clear glass separates the spaces in Wheelhouse I.
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A conference room in Wheelhouse I
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Wheelhouse is located in The Foundry District.
A bit of navigating is required to reach The Foundry District: Pass the West Seventh Street traffic, Linwood-area construction, a slew of auto shops, and then — boom. The intensely bright and colorful murals stretching wall-to-wall across what’s known as Inspiration Alley mark the spot.
The Foundry District is an office, restaurant and retail development by local developer M2G Ventures — a project that, as of now, spans 14 buildings totaling 87,000 square feet. While the district serves as home to local businesses like M&O Station Grill, Doc’s Records and Vintage, and The Lathery, it also features a creative office component: Wheelhouse.
“We played around with 30 different names and went through what each one meant, what resonated with us, what resonated with everyone else … Wheelhouse kept coming back to us,” said Susan Gruppi, who serves as co-president of M2G with twin sister Jessica Worman. “Each one of these groups within this, they’re the expert at their own trade — it’s ‘within their wheelhouse.’”
Wheelhouse consists of two 1950s buildings on Carroll Street, one across the street from the other. The building west of Carroll (known during development as “Wheelhouse I,” as it finished first) used to be a screen printing facility; the one on the east (“Wheelhouse II”) was a former medical office building. M2G purchased both buildings in 2016 and worked with local architects GFF and Schwarz-Hanson to build out the spaces. Wheelhouse I then became M2G’s initial office, and when Wheelhouse II opened in February, M2G moved there, while security company Tactical Systems Network took over M2G’s former space. Other companies currently officing in Wheelhouse include public relations and marketing firm Holland Collective, general contractor CG Northern Development and, soon, Fusion Medical Aesthetics, expected to move in come June.
The interior of Wheelhouse II is decidedly minimalist. Save a pop of geometric tile in the kitchen area and a wall of faux greenery at the entrance, the rest of the space is mostly solid white walls with black metal frames lining doorways and windows — a blank canvas, so to speak, for the art that would go in.
The space carries the feel of a small gallery. Spotlights are placed strategically to highlight the art; most pieces also feature a label with the artist’s name and title of the work.
Pieces were curated by M2G’s Chief Creative Officer Katie Murray, who, if you don’t know by now, is the mastermind behind the Dreamer mural series that includes the Don’t Quit Your Daydream mural at The Foundry District itself. Works vary from charcoal drawings by Texas Wesleyan University students to blow-up prints of black-and-white photographs by Dallas-based artist Ashley Whitt.
One of Murray’s own pieces is in the main hallway — a simple installation of black paper butterflies titled 2018 Migration of Monarch Butterflies January-April. Murray studied the butterflies’ actual migration pattern to depict the movement from California, to Texas, to Florida. At the end of the hallway is a yarn installation by Sheryl Anaya, set up on exposed metal rods that were part of the original building.
But, the art isn’t just for décor — it’s meant to inspire the workers inside, Worman says.
“It really reminds you to think outside the box and to elevate your game at all times,” Worman says. “You can come into this office ... you see a really awesome piece of art, and it reminds you of the path that you’re going on, and it takes a lot to get there.”
Wheelhouse I, though also lined with curated art, has a more industrial vibe. Its furniture is notably eclectic, ranging from a 1980s purple couch that once belonged to Worman and Gruppi’s parents, to a coffee table made of recycled pasta racks from one of M2G’s other projects, the O.B. Macaroni Building. The modern furniture of Wheelhouse II comes from a variety of sources as well, including retailers like Article and Urban Outfitters.
“Anybody can develop four walls, but it’s the details that make something really special,” Worman says. “For us, the art, the furniture, the finishes, the brand — that’s all what makes people want to come here.”
The rest of The Foundry District is anywhere but done. Still to come: the first brick-and-mortar for local gift shop, Gifted; the Meyer & Sage culinary studio; Blackland Distillery; and Craftwork Coffee Co.’s largest location. At press time, about 2,000 square feet of space at Wheelhouse has yet to be filled.
“Whether we’re talking about Wheelhouse, or we’re talking about the way we develop property, it all has a brand and a story that ties to it … Nobody really cares about typical office space,” Gruppi says. “But do they want to be a part of something that’s bigger than them? Yes.”