Arkansas Business

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra has executed a lease and will be moving its practice space and offices to Main Street in Little Rock.

Christina Littlejohn, executive director of the symphony, said the symphony's board chairman signed the lease Friday with developer Scott Reed for space in the first floor of the M.M. Cohn Building and part of the neighboring Arkansas Building.

The symphony should move into its new building by the end of this summer, Littlejohn said.

The new space is 12,250 SF, which is more than twice the 6,000 SF of the symphony's current facility at St. John Catholic Center, 2417 N. Tyler St.

St. John is the campus of the Catholic Diocese of Little Rock.

The new lease also does not cost more than the prior one, Littlejohn said. "It's maintaining, at least for the first three years, our current rental price," she said.

The symphony is pursuing about $100,000 in grant funding to renovate its new location in the M.M. Cohn Building, Littlejohn said.

The larger rehearsal room will allow the symphony to perform smaller concerts, with audiences of 80 to 100 people, when a large venue isn't necessary, she said. The new rehearsal space would also permit expanded family programming and small ensemble or string quartet performances, she said.

The new facility also provides additional office space and a lobby area, where receptions can be held.

The ASO move is a part of downtown boosters' vision for a "creative corridor" in the Main Street area.