Construction on a nearly 11-acre commercial project at the southeast corner of Cantrell Road and Rodney Parham Road in Little Rock is expected to start in the fourth quarter.
Plans for the project, called The Middle, include a hotel and restaurants, said Bradford Gaines, director of new developments for Colliers Arkansas, the state’s largest commercial real estate, property management and development management firm.
He said Colliers is in negotiations with tenants, and couldn’t disclose who they were at this time. But some of the tenants will be new to Arkansas, he said.
Some trees and a little creek that runs through the property will be kept. “We are preserving that as a plaza area that can be used by hotel and restaurant users to have some outdoor space and patio tables,” Gaines said. “We see it as more of a lifestyle area, where you can bring your family and the kids on a Friday night and have something to eat and hang out.”
The project would also tie into the Arkansas River Trail. “Part of the concept is to have the walking and bike trail come through the development,” he said.
The project requires Little Rock Board of Directors approval, which is expected next month.
Gaines said a group of local investors is buying the land from the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees for a price that hasn’t been publicly disclosed.
Colliers has been working with the Design Workshop Inc., an international design studio, on the project. The engineer is Joe White & Associates Inc. of Little Rock. Gaines said Colliers’ development group has been keeping an eye on the piece of property for years.
The timing seemed to align well,” Gaines said, as the construction project to widen Cantrell Road is expected to be completed early next year.
“There’s a lot of pent up demand for development in this corridor,” Gaines said. “And we feel like that’s really the perfect location. It’s very convenient to Maumelle, even coming up the interstate from Saline County, that’s easy on and off. … This seems to make a lot of sense.”
