LITTLE ROCK | Development Updates

[theman]

Originally Posted by urbanactivistTX

Great news for Little Rock!! I've been hoping that the airport would expand, but wasn't expecting to hear about it with the downslide in air travel. Is there any mention of incorporation for the RiverRail (or some new, faster streetcar system)?

That has been discussed in the past, but was not part of the recent announcement. Most likely, the next extension to River Rail will be to the airport and hopefully with the other transportation components that were talked about the LR Airport Commission and the Central Arkansas Transit Authority will discuss adding a stop and LR National.

[theman]

Hotel builders chase variance for market site

BY KRISTIN NETTERSTROM
Arkansas Democrat Gazette


Hotel developers hope to sway a Little Rock zoning board later this month in favor of a seven-story Aloft hotel in the River Market entertainment district after an advisory group failed Tuesday to approve a request to build up 90 feet.

Although the hotel has yet to be designed, its height has pitted longtime cheerleaders of downtown development against each other.

Development in the River Market District is guided by special design rules that limit signs, height and other building details. Although the rules cap a building’s height at four stories or 48 feet, Little Rock granted variances to the 14-story First Security Building and the seven-story River Market parking garage.

Representatives of McKibbon Hotel Management Inc. of Gainesville, Ga., asked the River Market Design Review Committee on Tuesday to follow that precedent.

Granting the variance would allow a 148-room, L-shaped hotel on a parking lot at Commerce Street and President Clinton Avenue. The property is owned by Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc., which owns the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and other newspapers.

Describing the hotel’s interior as “exciting,” “ upbeat” and “modern,” Wes Townson, a McKibbon vice president, said an Aloft hotel caters to 25- to 39-year-old clients who make $ 75, 000 or more a year.

“What they want is something new and exciting,” he said about the $ 20 million project. His company already operates the Marriott Courtyard hotel in the First Security building and is erecting an eight-story Hampton Inns and Suites at River Market Place.

At 421 President Clinton Ave., the Aloft hotel would be built so its first story, expected to be retail or restaurant space, would line up with the front of the Arkansas Studies Institute next door. Upper floors would be built back from the street.

Preliminary designs show guests entering the hotel from a Commerce Street entrance and the hotel would have a back courtyard that looks out at the Cox Building. A hotel on the site that’s any lower wouldn’t be feasible, said architect Rick Redden, who has been hired to design the building.

A small police kiosk on the corner would be relocated elsewhere in the River Market at the developer’s expense, said Little Rock spokesman Scott Carter.

The committee liked the hotel’s concept, and the traffic it would create, but voted 2-2 on the variance request despite a positive recommendation from city planning staff.

The request needed three votes to pass. Jim Jackson stepped out of the meeting and did not vote because he and his wife, Lisa Ferrell, are investors in McKibbon’s downtown Marriott Courtyard Hotel. Ferrell is also a member of the Central Arkansas Library System board of trustees.

“I feel it’s critical on President Clinton we keep a pedestrian scale,” said Tim Heiple, the River Market committee chairman who voted against the request.

A seven-story building wouldn’t be as pedestrian friendly as a fourstory building, Heiple said.

“Bottom line, the project is very good and I’d like the economic impact,” said Frank Porbeck, who voted against the request. “The reasons were not good enough to violate the design overlay district rules.” But as a River Market property owner — he owns the building that houses Sticky Fingerz — Porbeck said he supports the hotel and its potential impact on property values.

“I hope the project can be done within the rules,” he said.

Committee members Shannon Light, the city’s River Market manager, and Ann Wait, an employee of Moses Tucker Real Estate, voted in favor of the variance. The request now goes to the city’s Board of Adjustment on Sept. 29 with the record that it failed before the River Market advisory committee.

Supporters — including the Downtown Partnership and Dan O’Byrne, chief executive officer of the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau — said the new hotel would attract more conventions and people, who are needed to attract even more businesses.

“It’s about the need to continue to grow the neighborhood,” said Jimmy Moses of Moses Tucker Real Estate. Moses, whose real estate company has built several condos in the neighborhood, said he represented the property owners.

In an e-mail passed out to the committee, Shannon Wynne said she supported the hotel and design.

“I cannot tell you how many times we, as tenants, have tried to book a hotel in the area but have not been able to,” said Wynne, whose company owns The Flying Fish and The Flying Saucer on President Clinton Avenue.

Other River Market business owners agreed.

“We love the idea of having a hotel directly across the street. It’s going to bring more people to our front door,” said Sticky Fingerz owner Chris King, who with his partner also owns the restaurant Rumba Revolution on President Clinton Avenue.

The River Market’s overlay district was created to provide a “festive, pedestrian oriented area with a quality mixture of commercial, office and residential uses,” according to the city’s Web site.

Design overlay districts should be revisited every few years, said George Wittenberg, coordinator of University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Urban Studies and Design Program.

“I don’t think they’re ever meant to stand firm forever,” he told the River Market committee.

[theman]

LR town homes with lofty touches ready to welcome first residents

BY LAURA STEVENS
Arkansas Democrat Gazette



The first three units of the $ 8. 6 million Vertical Modern Urban Lofts near Union Station in downtown Little Rock will be ready for residents to move into next week.

Eight of the 23 planned units in the environmentally friendly town-house development have been sold. Units range in price from $ 355, 000 to $ 424, 900 and are 2, 150 square feet to 2, 580 square feet in size.

Flat roofs, stark exteriors and a minimalist design couldn’t just go into any neighborhood, said Matt Bell, a partner with Vertical Development LLC. So he and his partner, Gene Cauley, bought up the downtown block.

“There’s a lot of modern-design homes being built in other cities,” Bell said. “Little Rock really hasn’t seen anything like this.” Each unit is three stories tall with storage space on a rooftop deck. The bottom floor has a two-car garage and a bedroom. The living room and kitchen are on the second floor, and the third floor has the master bedroom and a third bedroom.

The buildings are construct- ed with energy efficient Eco-Blocks, an expanded polystyrene foam form filled with concrete. The blocks soundproof the units, which are right next to train tracks. The blocks also make the units fireproof, Bell said. Rainwater will be collected from the rooftops to water the landscaping. Bell said the buildings have been constructed to attain Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold certification from the U. S. Green Building Council. The lofts are 50 percent more energy efficient than a standard-construction home. Residents will pay an average $ 58 a month to heat and cool a 2, 580-square-foot unit under current utility rates, according to Bell.

A view from the newly completed Phase I deck looks out over train tracks, the station and the Capitol. The 23 units will be gated, and each will have a monitored security system.

Modern appliances and light fixtures from furniture store Ikea fill the homes, which have 9- and 10-foot high ceilings and bamboo flooring. Modern fixtures include glass sinks.

Two of the first residents to move in will be physicians from Baltimore, Bell said.

Randy Jeffery, director of the Capitol Zoning District Commission, which approved the design in spring 2007, said the neighbors in the area are excited about the new additions.

He said the block previously had some abandoned structures that became drug houses and attracted the homeless. “So everyone was glad to see that get cleaned up,” he said.

Kathy Childs of A / K Glass Menders said she was the only business owner left on that block before Bell bought it for his development. She moved her business to 1723 S. Woodrow St., which has more space, Sept. 1, 2007. She thinks the lofts are a good fit for the area, “but my main thing is whether this was a good deal for” the developers, she added, because of the weak demand right now in the housing market.

Scott Sandlin with Moses Tucker Real Estate was hired about three weeks ago to act as a real estate agent for the lofts.

Sales of units in downtown priced at more than $ 250, 000 “have slowed down dramatically,” he said.

Yet the Vertical Lofts are drawing people who want a downtown lifestyle but still want a two-car garage and more privacy, he said. The units range from $ 162 to $ 167 per square foot, much lower than high-rise condos, which range from $ 280 to $ 550.

“Price point is going to be an advantage over there,” he added.

[theman]

Final Beam Placed on Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute

By The Associated Press


LITTLE ROCK (AP) _ The final steel beam was placed Friday on an expanded cancer research and treatment center named for the late Lt. Gov. Win Rockefeller, and organizers said they were hopeful they would raise $130 million by next summer for the new complex.

Dr. Peter Emanuel, director of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, said the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences has already raised $100 million for the project, which is scheduled for completion in 2010. The campus has until June 30 to raise an additional $15 million that would be matched by state funds.

"With inflation going up, it's kind of a moving target how much we can finish out," Emanuel said after a "topping out" ceremony to mark the final piece of steel being placed on the 12-story structure. "What we're telling our donors right now is we don't want to leave any matching dollars sitting on the table."

Even with those funds raised, the project will only have about six or seven completed floors and the remaining floors would be empty and finished up latter, he said.

UAMS officials announced last year they would name the center in honor of Rockefeller, who died in July 2006 after unsuccessful treatment in Seattle for myeloproliferative disease, a blood disorder that can lead to leukemia. The aggressive treatment Rockefeller sought wasn't available in Arkansas.

"I have said on a number of occasions that but for circumstances and fate, Win Paul might be standing here making this speech," Gov. Mike Beebe said.

Rockefeller, a Republican, ran briefly for the state's top office before dropping out because of his disorder. Beebe, a Democrat, defeated Republican Asa Hutchinson in the 2006 election.

The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation has pledged $12.3 million for the cancer center's expansion and to establish a permanent endowment to lead the institute's leukemia and lymphoma program.

UAMS has already received $31 million from the state through a $36 million matching fund program created from the state's surplus to expand the center. UAMS can ask for another $10 million through the governor's discretionary part of the General Improvement Fund.

Hrand Duvalian, the lead architect designer for the project, said the complex is aimed at making patients feel more comfortable during their treatment. Duvalian described UAMS as the most dense urban environment in the state.

"We spent as much time looking at hospitality designs as we did medical designs, so we could come up with something softer, a little more comfortable, a little light and airier," Duvalian said.

[theman]

City Approves Bond Issue for Heifer Building, Refinance

By Gwen Moritz
Arkansas Business


The Little Rock City Board of Directors last week agreed to facilitate a bond issue to refinance Heifer International's downtown headquarters and to help pay for a building currently under construction.

The resolution creating a public facilities board does not obligate the city or its taxpayers to repay the bonds, which would be tax-free and therefore carry a below-market interest rate.

However, Heifer's request to issue up to $20 million in bonds over two years suggests continuing weakness in its ongoing capital campaign to pay for the Murphy-Keller Education Center, which is being built adjacent to the headquarters that opened in 2006.

"The commitment is still to pay for the Murphy-Keller Education Center with donor dollars that are specifically committed for that purpose," said Ray White, spokesman for the hunger-relief charity.

In July, CEO Jo Luck told Arkansas Business that Heifer had already received "over $10 million and then we have some that's pledged beyond that" toward the $13 million needed to pay for the $8.2 million Murphy-Keller construction and related projects, including a commons area, landscaping, sidewalks and additional parking. The contractor on the project is CDI Contractors Inc. of Little Rock.

$5.7 Million Gap

But White said a gap of $5.7 million remains between the amount raised and the $13 million total cost, suggesting that the capital donations in hand are significantly less than Luck indicated 10 weeks ago. The bond issue would be used to bridge that gap and to refinance the $7.5 million debt remaining on the headquarters.

The main building, which replaced a patchwork of leased spaces, was built with a $19.5 million construction loan and mortgage from Regions Bank, which will mature next month. White said the interest rate was about 5.5 percent, and it has been paid down well ahead of schedule.

In July, using internal documents, Arkansas Business reported that Heifer's capital campaign raised only $1.08 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30, less than half what it raised in each of the two previous years and a fraction of the $5 million that its annual budget anticipated.

At the time, Luck indicated that the Murphy-Keller project would be scaled back if fund-raising didn't improve.

"Maybe we'll have to leave off something toward the end, but we will have our education center because that is all covered," she said.

White said borrowing money to complete the education center as originally envisioned was not a huge departure from the plan that Luck had described.

"The capital campaign is ongoing and it will pay for that project," he said.

He also said lowering the interest rate on the headquarters would free up money for Heifer's hunger-fighting mission.

He also said that the Heifer headquarters, the state's first "platinum-rated" green building, has been an particularly good investment "in an era of rising energy costs." For instance, he said, the 97,000-SF building has an average monthly water bill of $300, which he compared to a suburban homeowner who waters his lawn regularly.

[theman]

Condos Still Coming to Little Rock

By George Waldon
Arkansas Business


Three Little Rock condominium projects under construction are set to bring a combined 287 units on line in the downtown, Riverdale and west Little Rock markets. The first of these new condos will be completed before year's end, joining 49 unsold units downtown and 10 more for sale in west Little Rock.

But the Little Rock condominium market is in a state of flux as some developers push new construction forward while others remain on the sidelines. Still others have abandoned or altered their condo aspirations.

Local investors bought Holcombe Heights Apartments at 2100 Rebsamen Park Road in June 2007 for $6.4 million with the intention of converting the 125-unit complex into condominiums. However, the members of McFadden One LLC did an about-face last month.

"We decided it just wasn't a good time to take that amount of risk," said Todd Bridges, a member of the limited liability company. "I don't see the economy coming back until 2010. We didn't want to get out there with a condo project right now."

Instead, the 6-acre development will be spruced up, and the owners will re-market the project to apartment dwellers.

McFadden One, led by Bess McFadden Sanders and her sons, Todd and Chris Bridges, acquired the project from another group that had also considered the possibility of a condo conversion.

Holcombe Heights LLC, which included Paul Tibbs, James Tibbs, Andrew Tibbs, Jimmy Moses, Rett Tucker, Denise Martin and Chris Moses, purchased the property for $5.5 million in January 2006.

The Cliffs

While McFadden One was backing away from the condo table in the Riverdale area, River Rock Properties LLC announced it had sold the last of 73 units at The Cliffs in downtown Little Rock.

Sales at the converted Riverview Apartments project totaled $9.3 million since the first unit was purchased 27 months ago. Led by Henry Jordan Jr. and his father, Henry Jordan Sr., River Rock Properties purchased the 2.5-acre development at 810 North St. in July 2005 for $5 million.

Prices of the one- and two-bedroom units ranged between $110,000 and $200,000, by far the most affordable condo space to hit the market of late.

Helping close the books on The Cliffs condo conversion was Willis Smith and his son, Scott. They bought the last five units in a $550,000 package deal.

Chenal Woods

Willis Smith, the Jordans and Bek Kaiser are among the investors in the 72-unit Chenal Woods project under construction in west Little Rock.

Henry Jordan Jr. said that 19 condos, including all six of the one-bedroom units, are under contract for a combined $8 million.

The first of six buildings, featuring Mediterranean-style architecture with stucco and stone walls, tile roofs and Tuscan columns, should be completed during the next two months.

"We're well on schedule," said Lewis May, CEO of May Construction Co., general contractor overseeing Chenal Woods. "February is when we're supposed to turn the whole project over to the owners."

The investors are gearing up for a holiday marketing push with an eye toward putting on display a condo unit awaiting finishing touches.

"We're hoping to have a 'white box' completed by the end of November, so we have something to show people," Jordan said. "The golf course and the mountains, the views are just phenomenal out there."

Seven floor plans for units range from 1,054 SF with a one-bedroom, 1.5-bath layout ($290,000) to 1,742 SF with a three-bedroom, 3.5-bath layout ($499,000). Each condo has a terraced balcony.

The highest price for a unit is $546,000 for a 1,536-SF three-bedroom, two-bath layout with a golf course view.

The roster of general amenities includes an open-air pool cabana with a fireplace and grill, fitness facility, swimming pool and water features and putting green.

The 4.68-acre site, bordering the No. 6 fairway and green at Chenal Country Club's Founders Course, was acquired from El Dorado's Deltic Timber Corp. for $2.8 million. Construction is backed with a $19.5 million loan from First Security Bank of Searcy.



Vallon Circle

The developers of Vallon Circle in west Little Rock completed their first 12-unit building but have backed off on building the clubhouse until phase two.

"When the market turns around and we close more sales, we'll start construction on the next phase," said Tim Spainhour, a Vallon Circle investor.

Development plans call for 150 to 160 condos in 11 buildings on the 15-acre site at 16509 Chenal Valley Drive. Vallon Circle condos range from 1,600 SF two-bedroom, two-bath units ($325,000) to 2,100-SF three-bedroom, three-bath units ($375,000).

"We have had interest in one-bedroom units, so we may revisit our design plans for future phases to see if we can accommodate that request," Spainhour said.

Innovative Builders of Little Rock Inc. is handling the construction, with natural stone and stucco exteriors, earth tones and chateau styling.

"We started our big marketing push around the first of August," Spainhour said. "We're closing on our first two sales today [Sept. 16]. A third is under contract, and it should close in the next 45 to 60 days when the customization is completed."

Riviera

An apartment-to-condominium conversion in the Riverdale area required Boyd Corley Construction LLC to gut, remodel the interior and refurbish the exterior of the 11-story, 142,000-SF Riviera Apartments building.

"We'll be finished by middle of October," said Boyd Corley, CEO of the Little Rock general contracting firm.

The developers of Riviera Condominiums have pushed back the planned September opening a few weeks, with the addition of some tweaks to the building exterior and the neighboring four-tiered parking deck.

"Our model unit should be done around the end of October, and an opening should quickly follow," said Valerie Bell of Riviera Partners LLC.

Another change in plans entails adding more one-bedroom units to the mix, which bumped up the condo count from 68 to 80. The 2.1-acre development at 3700 Cantrell Road previously was home to 113 apartments.

The pricing of floor plans ranges from $199,000 to $209,000 for 695 SF and $249,000 to $259,000 for 928 SF on floors two through four; $299,000 to $339,000 for 1,150 SF on floors two through eight; $439,000 to $475,000 for 1,700 SF on floors five through eight; $749,000 to $779,000 for 2,850 SF on floors nine through 10; and $829,000 to $849,000 for 2,850 SF on the 11th floor.

What is the tally of pre-sold units? "They're not disclosing a number, but they've sold a handful," Valerie Bell said.

The project is backed with a $15 million funding agreement from Twin City Bank of North Little Rock.

Riviera Partners, an investment group led by Tom Rystrom, bought out Blue Cube Development's stake in the condo conversion last year.

The move dovetailed with Matt Bell selling his interest in Bell-Corley Construction Co., now Boyd Corley Construction. John Moore, a former Bell-Corley Construction staffer, was another Blue Cube investor.



Riverdale Delays

Two other would-be condo projects in the Riverdale area haven't moved beyond the proposal stage.

Plans call for Jim Hathaway's River Tower to have 38 luxury condos atop a mixed-use development. A rendering of how the project might look remains on display at the northeast corner of Riverfront Drive and Riverbend Road. The 3.2-acre site was purchased for $1.4 million.

David Carl's Marina Cove project called for an office-to-condo conversion of the 20,300-SF Riverdale Building. But the 1.7-acre development at 2228 Cottondale Lane, acquired for nearly $2.3 million, remains as is.

Lafayette

In downtown Little Rock, the first 30 condos in the Lafayette Square project still await a buyer. Six months ago, Alex Marks of Tower Investments said 10 of the units were under contract, but that hasn't translated into any recorded sales yet.

Suzanne Nahay, a Tower Investments spokeswoman in the firm's Nashville, Tenn., office, said a "number of condos" have been rented. "No specific figures are being released at this time," she said.

The redevelopment of the Lafayette Building from office to condos is linked with a $6.5 million loan from Arvest Bank of Fayetteville. Tower Investments also owns neighboring buildings, labeled for a mix of residential condominium and commercial space.

These future redevelopments are linked with two loans topping a combined $1.1 million: $750,000 from North Little Rock's National Bank of Arkansas secured by the 514 and 524 Main St. properties and $425,000 from Riverside Bank of Sparkman (Dallas County) secured by 500 Main St.

Building 5

The Residences at Building 5 has sold four of 13 units at 400 W. Markham St., and Arkansas Riverview Development LLC, led by Gary Canada Sr., has had to contend with a surprising adversary along the way.

The developer lost valuable momentum when City Hall pulled the construction permit on the project, resulting in a long-running legal fight over disputed air rights.

The disagreement cast a cloud over the project that cost a year in lost marketing opportunities before the real estate market slowed.

The way things went down had to leave the Canada family wondering: Is this the same downtown development-hungry, revenue-needy City Hall that waived $133,466 in fees at the competing River Market Tower?

Rett Tucker, partner in Moses Tucker Real Estate, reports that about 27 percent of the 135 condominium units are pre-sold in the River Market Tower. Tucker declined to provide a dollar total for those deals.



Shannon Earls, vice president of Little Rock's CDI Contractors LLC, said construction of the 20-story River Market Tower remains on schedule for completion in late May.

"Interior finish-out is expected to start in October," said Earls, project executive for the 450,000-SF development in downtown Little Rock. "Exterior work is about 40 percent complete."

The $46 million development in-cludes a six-story parking deck. An adjoining Hampton Inn, set to open next month, is under separate ownership.

Tucker also reports that 88 of the 98 condos in the 300 Third project have sold and an estimated 70 percent are occupied.

[theman]

Hampton Inn & Suites to Open Friday in Downtown Little Rock

By Amy Riggin
ArkansasBusiness.com


McKibbon Hotel Management Inc. of Tampa, Fla., announced this week that it will open its second property in Little Rock on Friday: Hampton Inn & Suites in the River Market District.

The hotel has 119 rooms, featuring 35 studio suites. The eight-story building is located at the corner of 4th and Commerce streets at 320 Commerce St., just off of Interstate 30.

"This dynamic urban location in the heart of River Market District will offer our guests an abundance of shopping, dining and entertainment opportunities right at their doorstep," CEO John McKibbon said in a news release. "With access to the city's River Rail trolley and so many amenities within walking distance, guests will have a variety of alternatives to getting in their cars to discover this great city."

Daniel Mote, who previously managed the Courtyard by Marriott in Knoxville, Tenn., is general manager of the property. Mote, who has a bachelor's degree in hotel and restaurant administration from the University of Tennessee, joined the McKibbon team in 2004. Jalinska Deloach, who began her career with McKibbon in 2005 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Fort Myers, Fla., serves as assistant general manager, and Jeff McClure will serve as director of sales.

An opening ceremony will begin at noon on Friday. Following the ceremony, the hotel will welcome its first guests.

ArkansasBusiness.com reported in August 2006 that McKibbon Hotel Group of Gainesville, Ga., secured a 10-year, $13.5 million loan from Countrywide Commercial Real Estate of Calabasas, Calif., for the Courtyard by Marriott at 521 President Clinton Ave.

McKibbon currently operates more than 50 mid and upscale brands in eight states throughout the Southeast.

[theman]

Downtown LR Doubletree shows off $12 million in renovations

BY TOBY MANTHEY
Arkansas Democrat Gazette


The Doubletree Hotel in downtown Little Rock on Tuesday showed off $ 12 million in renovations.

Work, which began in May, includes a renovated lobby, executive boardroom, and restaurant and bar. Guest rooms have 42-inch flat-screen TVs and granite countertops and shower stalls.

“We’ve renovated all of our meeting space as well as our public space,” said Gary Wood, the hotel’s interim general manager.

Light-green and gold touches have been added to what was formerly an all-beige exterior.

The Doubletree, which has 288 guest rooms and suites, is showcasing its new look less than two weeks after the opening of another downtown hotel with a Hilton brand — the 119-room Hampton Inn & Suites.

Wood said the Doubletree, which is connected to the Robinson Center Music Hall, is a full-service hotel, offering more meeting space and food and beverage offerings compared with limited-service hotels such as the Hampton Inn.

The renovation follows a spate of investment in the downtown hotel market, including makeovers to properties such as the nearby Capital Hotel and a proposal by the owners of the Hampton to build a seven-story Aloft hotel in the River Market District.

Hotel rooms typically need to be renovated every seven years, he said, and the Doubletree was most recently updated in 1996, Wood said.

“We may have been a little more conservative in our renovations if we knew what was going on now [with the economy ], but we’re still very optimistic about what’s going to happen next year and future years as well,” Wood said.

Besides the economic environment, the proposed $ 28. 1 billion sale of Alltel Corp. to Verizon wireless is a concern for the hotel, which caters heavily to business travelers and depends on the wireless provider as part of its business mix.

“Alltel is one of the major room suppliers in the Little Rock market,” Wood said, later adding that “I’ve been told that they put into the city of Little Rock this year something close to 14, 000 to 20, 000 room nights.” Room rates at the Doubletree are $ 139- $ 199 on weekdays and $ 129- $ 179 on weekends.

The Doubletree was bought last year from Capitol City Hotel Limited Partnership by New Yorkbased Trinity Hotel Investors LLC, which leases the land on which the hotel sits from the City of Little Rock. Associated Hotels LCC, for which Wood is chief operating officer, has remained managers of the hotel under the new owners.

Hotel officials said renovation activity was responsible for a downturn at the hotel, which had been seeing its taxable receipts grow in recent years.

The Doubletree paid $ 108, 302 in restaurant and lodging taxes on taxable receipts of $ 5. 5 million from January to September, according to Ionette Neal, director of tax revenue for the Little Rock Advertising & Promotion Commission. In 2007, the Doubletree had taxable receipts of $ 7. 2 million from January to September, up from $ 6. 4 million for the period a year earlier.

The hotel opened in the early 1970 s as the Camelot Hotel and became a Doubletree in 1995.

[theman]

One downtown attraction is about the open and another will have major changes starting next year.


The fourth of Arkansas' Nature Centers will open in downtown December 17th.


Nature Center in Downtown LR Set to Open Dec. 17
By Gwen Moritz
Arkansas Times

Two and a half years after ground was broken on a sweltering day in June 2006, the Witt Stephens Jr. Central Arkansas Nature Center is almost ready for business.

The grand opening of the last of four educational centers to be built by the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission is scheduled for Dec. 17.

Inside the 16,232-SF building, which clings to the bank of the Arkansas River in downtown Little Rock, more than $2 million worth of exhibits are finding their permanent home.


It's neighbor, the Museum of Discovery, has received a $9.2 million grant from the Reynold's Foundation to update and expand its facility and exhibits and to build an entrance from Clinton Ave. giving museum patrons direct access to museum instead of having to go into lobby of the Museum Center building to access it.

Museum of Discovery Gets $9.2 Million Grant
By The Associated Press


LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) _ The Museum of Discovery has received a $9.2 million grant to renovate and update its facilities and exhibits, including a plan to build a new entrance that will be accessible from President Clinton Avenue in downtown Little Rock.

The grant, from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, will also pay for three new galleries of interactive exhibits.

The current museum space is 44,000 square feet and houses permanent and visiting exhibits. The renovations will expand the square footage to more than 50,000 feet.

New exhibits include ones focusing on physical sciences, human life, earth sciences and environmental issues.



The Museum Center is a renovated termnal warehouse that includes the Museum of Discovery, offices, three restaurants and an African American Art Gallery.

[theman]

While the bickering continues on whether to build an Aloft Hotel in downtown Little Rock, a development group has announced plans for a hotel in downtown North Little Rock's Argenta District.

Developers Plan $28 Million Hotel in North Little Rock
By Arkansas Business Staff


The New Argenta Fund on Tuesday announced plans for a $28 million hotel in North Little Rock's Argenta District, which would open in 2010.

The hotel will be built in the former location of Rye Furniture at the corner of Broadway and Maple streets, near the North Shore Riverwalk and Dickey-Stephens Ballpark. It will be operated by a national brand, which the New Argenta Fund said will be announced "in the coming months."

The hotel will be eight to 12 stories tall and have 130 guest rooms, 25,000-SF of meeting and event space and 15,000-SF of retail and restaurant space. A parking deck with 300 spaces planned to sit adjacent to the hotel.

"This is a needed addition to the growing Argenta District," John Gaudin, a partner with New Argenta Fund, said in a news release. "We wanted to bring in a concept that wouldn't compete with the neighboring Wyndham Hotel, but complement it. This hotel will help continue our growing tourism base and will offer needed jobs to area residents."

The fund said the hotel will feature "extensive meeting and business conference space."

The Wyndham sits just across W. 2nd St. from the Rye Furniture site at 201 Main St. Gaudin's Maple Holdings purchased the two-acre property in 2005 for $1.95 million from Rye Wholesale Furniture Co., led by Stanley Brad-shaw Jr. Rye Furniture closed in 2006.

Formerly a Hilton, the Wyndham is owned by Frank Fletcher’s F.F. Hotels Inc. In 2002, the hotel signed a 10-year franchise agreement with publicly traded Wyndham International Inc. of Dallas.

The hotel, which was renovated in 2001, features 220 guest rooms; a fitness center and business center; an outdoor pool; 13,300 SF of meeting space; and two restaurants: Benihana’s Japanese Restaurant and the Riverfront Restaurant & Steakhouse.

In a news release, North Little Rock Mayor Patrick Hays said adding to downtown overnight-stay options will give the city "more opportunities to have people on our streets and on their feet ­ to enjoy all of the entertainment, business, educational and leisure activities that North Little Rock has to offer."

[JAHOGS]

http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/2008/12/aloft_to_be_built_different_lo.aspx

All will proclaim this a win-win.

The controversial Aloft Hotel won't be built at Clinton and Commerce in the River Market District.

But it will still be built, two blocks south, at Commerce and Third, across the street from the Vermillion restaurant on what is now yet another parking lot owned by Democrat-Gazette publisher Walter Hussman. Details were announced late this afternoon by Moses Tucker Real Estate, the developer.

The McKibbon Hotel Group, which already operates the Courtyard by Marriott and the Hampton Inn in the River Market neighborhood, had struck a deal to buy the lot on Clinton Ave. from Hussman for a seven-story Aloft Hotel. Library Director Bobby Roberts opposed the building as out of character with the neighborhood, which has a 48-foot height limitation (exceeded by any number of neighboring structures.) Billionaire financier Warren Stephens, who owns the nearby ritzy Capital Hotel, also provided key opposition. His employees said the competition would be damaging to his recently renovated hotel. (His spokesman later said they were more concerned with protecting the sanctity of the standards of the River Market Design Overlay District than with competitive pressure. Note: Stephens himself benefitted from a zoning variance and a free contribution of city right of way for his Capital Hotel remodeling project.)

Little Rock officials ran to cover after Stephens' opposition (and from the Peabody Hotel) emerged. The hotel seemed headed to defeat, even though design changes had been made to make the hotel more palatable.

Today came an unexpected solution. McKibbon will still buy the lot that Roberts once wanted for a library auditorium. When the economy justifies it and he has tenants, he'll use it for a retail and perhaps residential development of up to four stories. A rendering is shown at the top. But this project is only in the conceptual stage.

Roberts has reportedly pronounced himself pleased with the outcome. I bet.

McKibbon will go ahead next year with his hotel plan, an essentially identical design and size. It will be immediately south of a freeway ramp that passes over parking on the east side of Commerce. The zoning there is UU, with at least a 72-foot height allowance (the aloft design ran 75 to 77 feet, with an additional 12-foot sign on top), but some additional considerations are allowed because this parcel is on the streetcar line. The hotel, as designed, won't require the city waivers needed at the site at Clinton and Commerce.

McKibbon will purchase the new site from Hussman, too. It's part of land the publisher acquired related to his investment in the building that is now the Museum Center on Clinton Avenue, once site of the old Arkansas Democrat's press.

McKibbon is high on Little Rock and the River Market district apparently. He'll reportedly begin development of the hotel in earnest next year. If the hotel alone comes to pass, city officials can breathe a sigh of relief that their surrender to the Stephens/ Robert combine didn't cost the city a $20 million development in a difficult financial climate. If they also get an additional mixed use development, it will be lagniappe.

NEWS RELEASE

(LITTLE ROCK, AR – 12/18/08) McKibbon Hotel Group, Inc. of Gainesville, Georgia announced today plans to relocate its planned aloft by Starwood hotel to 3rd and Commerce Streets.

Chief Executive Officer John McKibbon explained, “When we encountered resistance from the Library and others for a seven story, $20 million hotel at Clinton and Commerce, we began to reevaluate our options.” Working with City of Little Rock officials, including Mayor Mark Stodola and Dr. Dean Kumpuris, and developers Jimmy Moses and Rett Tucker of Moses Tucker Real Estate, a new location was identified just outside of the overlay district, where property is not limited to the four story, 48 foot height limit that created opposition from several neighbors. “We can still develop a new, exciting hotel in the River Market District that we believe will not only be successful, but beneficial to all of downtown,” stated McKibbon.

Meanwhile, McKibbon Hotel Group will enter into a joint venture to build a new retail/office complex on Clinton Avenue with Moses Tucker Real Estate. Although plans are preliminary, the Clinton Avenue project would consist of a four story, 80,000 gross square foot building. The first floor would be designed to accommodate up to 15,000 square feet of retail shop space. The second floor is envisioned as a multi-screen cinema and restaurant space. Floors three and four will be planned for office and/or residential use.

The aloft hotel will be the first Starwood brand in the Little Rock area. 130 rooms are planned, along with a contemporary bar and meeting space. Construction will begin on the hotel during the 4th quarter of 2009, with an opening scheduled for spring of 2011. This will be the third property that McKibbon Hotel Group has developed in downtown Little Rock.

About McKibbon Hotel Group, Inc./McKibbon Hotel Management, Inc.

McKibbon Hotel Group, Inc., based in Gainesville, Georgia, is a privately owned enterprise that has grown into a premier real estate developer and owner of nationally franchised hotel brands for Marriott, Hilton and Starwood Hotels. McKibbon is proud to be a recognized leader for over 82 years in the hospitality industry, and McKibbon Hotel Management, Inc., based in Tampa, Florida, currently operates over 60 mid and upscale brands in 8 states throughout the Southeast. The company has a rich history and culture that promotes a family oriented environment, while holding true to its core values of honesty, integrity and loyalty. For more information, visit www.mckibbon.com.

[shakman]

You people of LR have a happening Downtown. Congrads!!!

[urbanactivist]

You know it!!!

I was at home over the Holidays... downtown is just getting better every day.

[theman]

This project may be dead in the water now. The North Little Rock School District said that it was going to sue the city over the TIF district that was set up to pay for the parking garage for this hotel. The developers said that this could be held up for as long as three years in Arkansas courts so they may back out.

Developers Plan $28 Million Hotel in North Little Rock
By Arkansas Business Staff


The New Argenta Fund on Tuesday announced plans for a $28 million hotel in North Little Rock's Argenta District, which would open in 2010.

The hotel will be built in the former location of Rye Furniture at the corner of Broadway and Maple streets, near the North Shore Riverwalk and Dickey-Stephens Ballpark. It will be operated by a national brand, which the New Argenta Fund said will be announced "in the coming months."

The hotel will be eight to 12 stories tall and have 130 guest rooms, 25,000-SF of meeting and event space and 15,000-SF of retail and restaurant space. A parking deck with 300 spaces planned to sit adjacent to the hotel.

"This is a needed addition to the growing Argenta District," John Gaudin, a partner with New Argenta Fund, said in a news release. "We wanted to bring in a concept that wouldn't compete with the neighboring Wyndham Hotel, but complement it. This hotel will help continue our growing tourism base and will offer needed jobs to area residents."

The fund said the hotel will feature "extensive meeting and business conference space."

The Wyndham sits just across W. 2nd St. from the Rye Furniture site at 201 Main St. Gaudin's Maple Holdings purchased the two-acre property in 2005 for $1.95 million from Rye Wholesale Furniture Co., led by Stanley Brad-shaw Jr. Rye Furniture closed in 2006.

Formerly a Hilton, the Wyndham is owned by Frank Fletcher’s F.F. Hotels Inc. In 2002, the hotel signed a 10-year franchise agreement with publicly traded Wyndham International Inc. of Dallas.

The hotel, which was renovated in 2001, features 220 guest rooms; a fitness center and business center; an outdoor pool; 13,300 SF of meeting space; and two restaurants: Benihana’s Japanese Restaurant and the Riverfront Restaurant & Steakhouse.

In a news release, North Little Rock Mayor Patrick Hays said adding to downtown overnight-stay options will give the city "more opportunities to have people on our streets and on their feet ­ to enjoy all of the entertainment, business, educational and leisure activities that North Little Rock has to offer."[/QUOTE]

[theman]

Mayor Stodola Expects City To Expand Its Role in Block 2 Redevelopment

By George Waldon
ArkansasBusiness.com


Mayor Mark Stodola isn't certain what the future holds for new development in the Block 2 area of downtown Little Rock. But he is convinced the city should expand its role in determining what will happen.

Stodola felt so strongly that he led an effort to reacquire an ownership stake in Block 2 through the Little Rock Advertising & Promotion Commission. The effort was backed with the possibility of an eminent domain action to force a sale if a negotiated deal couldn't be struck.

"There are plenty of players down there, and the city has to provide some leadership to do some good planning," Stodola said. "The only way I can ensure that is if we own some property down there."

The A&P Commission is in the process of buying the 54-slot parking lot at the southwest corner of Markham and Scott streets for slightly more than $1 million.


Stodola already has begun talking with owners of adjoining property about their aspirations and the possibilities for joining to do something special.

"I think you will ultimately see a redevelopment that will add additional hotel rooms and meeting rooms that will probably involve the entire eastern half of the block or wrap around the Wallace and Archer Drug buildings," he said.

Those scenarios could mean gutting or tearing down the historic Democrat Printing & Lithograph Building (home to Arkansas Business Publishing Group) on the east half of the block or demolishing a string of Main Street properties (controlled by Warren Stephens) on the west half of the block that includes Stephens Media at 119 Main St.

Working on a Vision

Stodola hopes to formulate a vision for the Block 2 area by tapping into the Mayors' Institute on City Design, a partnership program of the National Endowment for the Arts, the American Architectural Foundation and the United States Conference of Mayors.

"I've had the desire, since becoming mayor, to take the energy and excitement along Markham and President Clinton Avenue and pull it down toward Main Street," he said.

The original Block 2 redevelopment, touted as a $21 million development when it opened in 2000, was viewed as a lynchpin project to help accomplish that. Overall, it proved to be a financial failure, with ground-floor retail space proving especially troublesome.

The apartment and office components live on after foreclosure brought new ownership in March 2008: LSF5 Block 2 LLC, an affiliate of Lone Star U.S. Acquisition LLC of Dallas.

The Texas investors have maintained a low profile after buying the long-in-default Block 2 loan for $7.5 million from the Department of Housing & Urban Development and foreclosing on it.

Stodola has met with Lone Star officials who report that they have stabilized the project and apartment occupancy stands at about 50 percent.

Three Block 2 buildings are home to 145 apartments: Archer Drug Building at 107 E. Markham St., 69 units; the Wallace Building at 101 Main St., 44 units; and the DP&L building at 114-122 E. Second St., 32 units.

The city relinquished its previous ownership in Block 2 in August 1999 after selling the Wallace Building at 101 Main St. for $400,000. That deal was struck with Paul Esterer and Todd Rice as part of the Block 2 redevelopment.

Establishing a relationship with Lone Star carries an added importance because the group has a legal say-so on what can be developed on the city-controlled Block 2 parking lot.

The 16,800-SF property bears restrictive covenants that set a height ceiling of 25 feet for any structure on the northwestern half of the property. Any proposed deviation from this requires the approval of the owner of the DP&L Building to the south and the Archer Drug Building to the west.

Both buildings are owned by the Lone Star group.

The restrictive covenant "was done primarily to protect the sight lines of the buildings," Todd Rice said. "It was a height restriction we felt was important because any high-rise construction would affect those buildings."

The southeastern half of the parking lot maintains its unfettered urban use zoning, with a 75-foot height restriction that could go higher if retail and residential space are part of the mix.

Some portrayed the unusual restrictions, established by Esterer and Rice, as a deal breaker for the first attempt to develop an Aloft Hotel in downtown Little Rock.

But Storm Nolan, partner in CSK Hotels of Fort Smith, expressed confidence about working out a deal with Lone Star to waive those restrictions so the company could develop the Aloft project.

"Because of the city's unwillingness to work with us, we were not able to do that deal," Nolan said.

Parking Deck?

With the pending change of ownership, the city's A&P Commission will have to contend with the height restriction entanglement. For now, Stodola is content to operate the parking lot as is until bigger plans can take shape.

"I'm not a big fan of all of these surface parking lots [in downtown Little Rock]," he said. "That begs the question about providing more vertical parking in conjunction with other development."

Whether a parking deck or a hotel materializes on Block 2 remains up in the air. The Block 2 parking lot, across the street from the expanded Statehouse Convention Center, is considered an important piece of any redevelopment puzzle.

"Nobody has made a decision on whether there is a need for another hotel to service the Convention Center," said Hal Kemp, attorney for the A&P Commission. "Everyone is interested in a parking facility."

There is debate among downtown boosters on whether the Block 2 lot, with its high visibility and prime location, should be part of a parking deck.

"We do believe that would be a poor location for a stand-alone parking deck," said Sharon Priest, executive director of the Downtown Little Rock Partnership. "There needs to be some street-level activity, such as shops."

The Block 2 parking lot transaction represents a price tag of $61.60 per SF, a tidy sum but far from the most expensive surface parking lot in downtown Little Rock.

That distinction belongs to the half-block parking lot on the east side of the Capital Hotel, which tipped the scales at more than $107 per SF because it was occupied by the Continental Building.

100 Main Building LLC, led by Warren Stephens, bought the property for $4.5 million, tore down the 120,000-SF office building and replaced it with a controlled-access surface parking lot with 114 parking slots.

As with the city-driven purchase of the Block 2 parking lot, control was a motivating factor in the acquisition. Stephens took sole ownership of the entire block and increased his stake in downtown Little Rock, especially property with frontage on Main Street.

Stodola believes the eastern half of the Capital Hotel property is destined for something more creative than surface parking, though the Stephens organization did not respond to a request for an interview on the subject.

"That's ultimately not the highest and best use for that property," Stodola said.

The same can be said for other private and public parking lots. The half-block, city-owned lot along Scott between Second and Third streets has drawn consideration for a parking deck as well as a mixed-use development.

In 1986, the city put the property up for sale. A winning bid of $600,000 was submitted by John Allison, Jimmy Moses, Rick Redden and Bob East.

The group planned to develop two buildings, with a height restriction of 125 feet and a combined 150,000 SF of mixed-use space, separated by a landscaped plaza and parking.

But the project didn't progress any further than the drawing board, and ownership of the property reverted to the city in 1989 after the group's option expired.

"It was a big project, but we never got past the talking stage, as I remember," East said.

Farther east in downtown Little Rock, another parking lot is being considered for a four-story, 80,000-SF mixed-use building.

McKibbon Hotel Group of Gainesville, Ga., is pursuing this new plan at the southwest corner of President Clinton Avenue and Commerce Street instead of pursuing an Aloft Hotel.

"Politically, there were a lot of people who didn't want it there, and we didn't want to fight that battle," said John McKibbon, CEO of McKibbon Hotel Group. "We weighed all the pluses and minuses and decided to pursue the other site."

The Aloft hotel proposal, which McKibbon picked up after CSK Hotels' plans were stonewalled, shifted to another parking lot less than two blocks south. The site at the northwest corner of Third and Commerce streets lies outside the River Market Design Overlay District and the need for height variances.

"I was pleased to see the issues were resolved," Stodola said of McKibbon's new plans.

[theman]

Main Street demolitions get go signal

By Kristin Netterstrom
Arkansas Democrat Gazette

LITTLE ROCK — Little Rock city directors cleared the way Tuesday for financier Warren Stephens to raze his row of Main Street buildings downtown for a $24million office complex, as well as demolish the Center Theater and several other buildings on theopposite side of the street.

City Director Joan Adcock had called for a moratorium on demolishing buildings on Main Street after Stephens took out permits this month to raze the vacant buildings at 400, 406, 412 and 420 Main St. Demolition work had not started, but Adcock wanted to rescind thepermits if information about Stephens’ plans wasn’t made public.

“I started this because I felt like people needed to know what was going on on their Main Street,” Adcock said before withdrawing her resolution for a six-month moratorium on demolitions.

The addresses, on the west side of the street, include the former Woolworth store, which was the site of a 1960 civil-rights sit-in, and buildings that once housed Montgomery Ward and Kempner Brothers Shoe Store.

In a presentation to city directors Tuesday, Stephens’ attorney David Knight confirmed “preliminary” plans to build an office building on the west side of Main Street in the 400 block, as well as plans to raze the old Center Theater, the Singer building and Haverty’s Furniture Co., or 407,409 and 411-413 Main St.

“All of which are essentially hollow shells,” Knight told the directors.

The movie theater was built in 1912 and closed in 1977. A portionof the Singer building, known as the Stone Building, was built in 1872 as part of the Main Street Methodist Episcopal Church, according to the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program. The fourstory furniture store building was constructed in 1915; Haverty’s left in 1982.

Knight didn’t elaborate on Stephens’ plans for either side of the street other than to confirm newspaper reports of a 117,370-square-foot office building on the west side. Stephens, who owns the investment banking firm Stephens Inc., wants to build and sell or lease the building to the state.

“I can’t stand here today and assure you this project will be completed,” Knight said.

He did say Stephens didn’t want to get into the long-termparking business, addressing concerns that the lots on the west side could become permanent parking if the office building plans fall through.

“If this project doesn’t go through, we’ll go back to the drawing board,” he said. “We don’t have anything in the hopper.”

Stephens representatives approached the state last summer about interest in an office building with parking underneath. Knight told city directors that Stephens’ plans accelerated after the Woolworth building’s basement flooded. Stephens wants to proceed before conditions worsen, he said.

“These buildings were worn down and dilapidated. This was not a problem we created,” Knight said, urging against a moratorium.

He ticked off a number of substantial projects the Stephens family has been involved in, more recently the $24 million-plus renovation of the Capital Hotel on Markham Street. The family also has been involved in significant hospital and educational endeavors.

Stephens’ permits to demolish the four buildings on the west side of Main Street are good throughMay 10. Contractor Bob East said after the meeting Tuesday that he expects demolition to start in the “next three weeks.”

Knight said demolition permits for the east side of Main Street would probably be obtained within the next few days, although there were no immediate plans for the site.

Preservationists have said they hoped the west-side buildings could be renovated or integrated into new developments to help maintain a pedestrian-friendly and historic downtown feel.

Vanessa Norton, executive director of the Historic Preservation Alliance of Arkansas, called on city directors to set policies for downtown, including whether the city encourages demolition or preservation. She also recommended that the city review demolition permits when they come in to determine whether a building plays a significant role in the community and whether it should be saved.

One downtown booster said the Stephens’ project was “extremely exciting” and that there are many ways to save a downtown, including adding new buildings.

“I think we’re about to embark on what we’ve all been dreaming about,” said developer Jimmy Moses of Moses Tucker Real Estate.

Dickson Flake, another real estate developer, said the city was adding another layer of risk for investors by considering rescinding demolition permits after the fact.

“I don’t know if you can imagine the signal this is sending,” Flake said.

The moratorium did not appear to have the support of the majority of city directors.

Several directors said they couldn’t support the proposed moratorium because Stephens had followed the rules to get his demolition permits.

Calling Main Street “dead,” city directors pointed out that past Main Street plans had called for redeveloping the street, possibly demolishing the buildings Stephens bought earlier this decade.

“We’ve been waiting for that one capital, that one big item,” City Director Dean Kumpuris said about why the city’s plans for the street have languished.

After withdrawing her resolution, Adcock said she’d like for the city to revisit its Main Street plans and possibly recommend special rules for the area.

[theman]

The Arkansas Studies Institute opened in the River Market District today. The $21 million project is a collaboration between the Central Arkansas Library System and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. It will house among other things the gubernatorial papers of Bill Clinton, Winthrop Rockefeller and Dale Bumpers. The Clinton School of Public Service will also have classroom space at the Institute. The Clinton School is a couple of blocks down the street on the campus of the Clinton Presidential Library. They have run out of classroom space there, that's why they made a $1 million contribution in order to have space at the Institute.

What's unique about the Arkansas Studies Institute is that the building is actually made up of three seperate building, two being historic and one being new. The mix of old and new will make this one of the signature buildings in the city.

[urbanactivist]

Originally Posted by theman

The Arkansas Studies Institute opened in the River Market District today. The $21 million project is a collaboration between the Central Arkansas Library System and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. It will house among other things the gubernatorial papers of Bill Clinton, Winthrop Rockefeller and Dale Bumpers. The Clinton School of Public Service will also have classroom space at the Institute. The Clinton School is a couple of blocks down the street on the campus of the Clinton Presidential Library. They have run out of classroom space there, that's why they made a $1 million contribution in order to have space at the Institute.

What's unique about the Arkansas Studies Institute is that the building is actually made up of three seperate building, two being historic and one being new. The mix of old and new will make this one of the signature buildings in the city.

I snagged a couple of photos of this building over Christmas. Not great quality, but it gives you an idea....


This shows the "new" portion of the building


Here's the incorporation of the two older structures. I for one really like the contrast. It "fits in" with the other new construction in downtown.

[vetteking]

$23 million renovation of AT&T building progressing

Work has started on the $23 million redevelopment of the former AT&T building at 1111 W. Capitol Ave., with the aim of converting the currently vacant office building into 115 apartments by early 2027, according to the project's Georgia-based developer.

A $10.08 million building permit was filed in November by a Greenville, S.C.-based contractor owned by Pace Burt, a Georgia-based developer who acquired 1111 W. Capitol in 2020 with the goal of turning the 314,000-square-foot office building into apartments.

A slew of smaller building, mechanical and electrical permits were filed that same month. Arkansas Business first reported on November's multimillion-dollar building permit.

Burt said the $10.08 million will go toward framing on the building and mechanical work inside. Once work is completed (construction is supposed to wrap up in late 2026 or early 2027), the apartments will rent for an average of around $1,500 per month, he said. The redevelopment will cost around $200,000 per unit, bringing the total for 115 units to $23 million.

Fair Market rent on a two bedroom unit in the Little Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area is $973, according to data from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. One-bedroom and three-bedroom fair market rent is $811 and $1,125, respectively.

Burt said once complete, the building will include a pickleball court and pool on the roof, as well as a conference space on the first floor. That space, which was also a conference center during the building's AT&T years, will be available for use by the public, including state legislators and lobbyists working at the nearby Capitol complex, he said.

"We're not putting a fence around the property ... (Once)nce we saw the layout and realized what AT&T had done with it in the past, we decided to kind of follow that similar footprint and try and create something that will bring some more attention to the building, instead of just renters," Burt said.

Units will include "condo finishes" like stainless steel appliances, tile bathroom floors and granite countertops. About 95% of those employed by the contractor working on the building will come from Arkansas, according to Burt.

The building will be Burt's second apartment complex in Arkansas, after The Flats at SoMa at the former Veterans Health Administration Hospital. The Flats has leased 80 units since opening four months ago. At that rate, Burt said, he's on track to rent 16 units per month.

"We can hardly get back to the desk before more people want to come in and look. It's our hottest project in the Southeast," he said. In addition to his Arkansas properties, Burt has holdings in Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

He said that a primary driver of these developments was the state and federal historic rehabilitation tax credit system, which provides tax credits for the redevelopment of historic buildings throughout the state.

The AT&T building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2022, which allows Burt to utilize federal and state tax credits to renovate the building. He did the same with the former hospital, which was listed in 2005.

Arkansas has two tax credits managed by the Arkansas Parks, Heritage and Tourism Department. The credit on income producing properties -- like the apartment complex at the former AT&T building -- in a city with a population above 50,000, provides a 30% tax credit with a $480,000 cap.

The state also has a major rehabilitation tax credit for projects with a budget of at least $1.5 million. The credit is capped at $48 million worth of expenses for a maximum credit of $12 million per project.

"The problem is the building isn't worth -- even from an appraisal standpoint -- the building is not worth what the cost of the renovation is. And so that's where tax credits on the state level and federal level come in to soften that impact," Burt said.

"These buildings don't happen without community support and federal and historic tax credits. That's so critical ... these buildings, they bring down communities if left vacant. And when you get in there and renovate, as they say, rising tide lifts all ships," he said.

The building was the longtime home of AT&T, which moved out in 2019. A company based in suburban Dallas bought the 10-story building in 2018, with plans to renovate the space into an office and living destination. That plan didn't materialize.

Burt said he is eyeing another property in the area but declined to disclose an address.

https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2025/dec/11/23-million-renovation-of-att-building-progressing/