Owners of the historic Rose Building at 307 Main Street in Little Rock have started a renovation that will add apartments and two restaurants.
The Lasiter Group of Little Rock announced the project Friday, and work began on Oct. 16. It said the 20,000-SF redevelopment should be completed in the first quarter of next year. Total renovation costs weren't available on Friday, the company said.
The project includes two restaurants in the building's ground floor and 11 apartment units. Ten of the apartments will be upstairs and one will be on the ground floor.
The restaurants are Ira's Grill, a gourmet fine dining eatery by local chef Ira Mittelman, and A.W. Lin's, an Asian restaurant by Andy Liu. It will be the second location for A.W. Lin's, which already operates a restaurant at the Promenade at Chenal in west Little Rock.
"I acquired this building over a decade ago with the foresight and anticipation that Main Street would once again be a destination for the residents and visitors alike in downtown Little Rock," Thomas Lasiter said in a news release. "I am pleased to see that it has become just that. We trust that this project, along with others along Main Street, will bring about a better city and a more vibrant downtown."
Lasiter leads Rose Building Holdings LLC, which owns the building.
Built in 1916, the Rose Building was named for Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Uriah Rose, who purchased three lots on the Peyton Block of Main Street in 1880. The two-story building features a symmetrically massed Neoclassical façade designed by George R. Mann, the architect who designed the Arkansas State Capitol and the Mann Building, which is on the same block as the Rose Building.
The project joins others that have come online in the 300 block of Main Street in the last few years. Other nearby restaurants include Samantha's Wood-Fired Grill, Bruno's Little Italy and Soul Fish Cafe. Next door to the Rose Building, workers continue building Brewski's Pub & Grub on the ground floor of 315 Main Street, a project that includes the Mulberry Flats apartments.
According to The Lasiter Group, the Rose Building renovation is being financed by Citizens Bank of Batesville. Central Construction Group of Little Rock is the general contractor, and Odom Peckham Architecture Inc. of Little Rock is the architectural and design firm.
Earlier this month, The Lasiter Group announced plans for a new multifamily development, the Villa View at SoMa, in the 1300 block of Scott Street in Little Rock. The 31,264-SF development is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2018.
