The Atari Hotel — a video game-inspired hospitality endeavor planned for Phoenix — has spent years in development in the creative studio. Now, the first-of-its-kind, 91-key property has a new construction timeline and funding plan.
Project developer Intersection Development has launched an equity offering aimed at small investors, such as fans of the Atari brand, to help keep the project on track for a 2026 groundbreaking and 2028 opening.
Intersection has also raised $14 million in private money separate from the equity offering. In total, the cost for the hotel is estimated to top $120 million, so the amount needed for a construction loan depends on how much money is raised.
The project is being developed with a license agreement with Atari. Beyond the classic video game themes throughout the hotel, Intersection plans to have a more than 2,000-person capacity esports and concert venue, a sportsbook, immersive bars, restaurants and shopping. In total, the hotel will have more than 90,000 square feet of entertainment space.
The proposal comes as U.S. hotel development has been hit by barriers of elevated interest rates and tariffs, though executives are pointing to demand momentum heading into 2026. David Pepper, chief development officer for Choice Hotels International, expects construction costs to come down “about 5% to 10%, mostly through labor," he said during an October panel discussion at the Lodging Conference in Phoenix.
Evolution of design
The concept for the Atari Hotel goes back to early 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic quickly tabled the project.
Efforts to develop the hotel resurfaced in late 2023 after Intersection bought a 1.1-acre property at 840 N. Central Ave. in a $10.5 million deal with radio station owner Audacy.
Architecture studio Räkkhaus is overseeing the design for the hotel in collaboration with Intersection. The firms view the project as a downtown entertainment complex that happens to have a hotel attached to it, said Zac Cohen, creative director and founder of Räkkhaus and cofounder of Intersection.
"We wanted to really tap into that kind of gaming nostalgia but include futuristic design elements," Cohen said. "We leaned heavily on 'Tron' and 'Blade Runner' for the overall theme for the hotel."
That shows up in subtle — and not-so-subtle — references to classic games woven throughout the hotel, such as pools shaped like asteroids from Asteroids; a building facade inspired by Tetris; and Atari's well-known Fuji logo, which extends along the building and into the sky.
Public investment kicks off
Meanwhile, developers have a goal of raising between $35 million and $40 million through an offering process known as Regulation A Tier Two that caps fundraising at $75 million. The process is intended to open fundraising to so-called Main Street investors; individuals can put in as little as $500.
Intersection will have to complete or close the cap by next December. The project's investor page said the minimum target it needs to hit to proceed is $8.7 million. If that isn't met, the money goes back to investors.
"The three ways that people will see money back out and make a return on their investment is through a combination of refinancing early on, ongoing cash flows and then an eventual sale," said Jordan Taylor, a partner at Intersection.
Taylor emphasized that Intersection may decide to hang onto the property for a while before deciding to sell.