From his office, North Little Rock Mayor Patrick Hays can hear the construction on Main Street below. The same sounds are familiar around the Springhill area where the new Baptist Memorial Medical Center is nearing completion.
Between the Alltel Arena in downtown North Little Rock and McCain Mall, the mayor sees the development of a prime economic corridor with new hotels, restaurants and a 20-screen movie theater in the planning stages. Then there are other projects on the drawing board, such as a boat ramp and marina facility on the Arkansas River and ice skating rinks at Burns Park.
“I think the excitement is contagious and the opportunities are becoming more apparent,” Hays says.
Downtown Rehabilitation
Planners tied a facelift of Main Street, stretching from the river to near the Union Pacific railyard, to the October opening of the Alltel Arena on Broadway, about two blocks over. Now, just as one phase of the project – on Main Street from Third to Fifth streets – winds down, another phase – on Washington Avenue to the arena – is well underway.
An investment of about $500,000 is aimed at developing a streetscape along Main Street. Sidewalks have been rebuilt; trees will be planted; and benches and antique-looking light fixtures will be installed.
The cost of the Washington Avenue project, which will eventually include a rail station for the planned River Rail service, is tabbed at about $400,000, according to the mayor. The goal is to create a “transit mall” between the rail station and the arena for spectators coming to arena events.
The goal for the entire project is to make the area more “pedestrian-friendly” and compatible with the arena and Little Rock’s downtown River Market district.
Though behind schedule by about two months, to the tune of a $250-a-day penalty for contractor Township Builders Inc. of Little Rock, Hays says the work from Third to Fifth streets should be complete by the end of August or early September.
Another headache for the downtown project has been the operation of the program established in 1994 to guide the downtown redevelopment, Main Street Argenta. Last week, the nine-member board asked director Judith Carter to step down after eight months on the job. The program’s first director resigned last year.
For the other phase of downtown construction, the city has offered incentives for contractor McV Inc. of Little Rock to finish the job ahead of the contract date of December. Hays says the work seems to be moving faster than it did in the first phase.
“We’ve underlined how important we feel it is for that work to finish by the first of October,” Hays says.
Main Street Argenta also plans to take steps to attract new businesses to the downtown area. Mark Grayson, a certified public accountant in North Little Rock and chairman of the Main Street Argenta board, says the board hopes to find a new director who will sell the revamped downtown to businesses looking to relocate.
He dismisses the idea that Carter’s dismissal or other problems are a sign the board is not heading in the right direction with the redevelopment effort. The facelift should make business recruitment easier, he says.
“Now we have a gem.” he says of the area as construction winds down, “Before we had a diamond in the rough.”
He compares the work to the success of the River Market district in Little Rock. “Five year ago, that was all promises and smoke dreams, and I don’t see any reason why we can’t be just as successful,” Grayson says.
He adds that grant proposals are already in the works to expand the “streetscape” project all around the arena.
Meanwhile, the city is still planning to move its customer-related services into the SF Services Inc. farm supply cooperative building across from the existing Main Street City Hall building. The city bought the building a little more than a year ago and took possession in April. The city will soon advertise for bids to renovate the inside of the building, according to the mayor. By the end of the year or early next year, Hays says, the city will open the renamed Administration Building to house representatives from the utility services, along with other public services.
Plans for a boat launch and marina just west of the Interstate 30 bridge and blocks from Alltel Arena are moving closer to fruition. At the same time, the city is preparing to ask for proposals from any interested in operating a restaurant/concession facility at the city-owned site that is home to the Spirit riverboat and Gators restaurant.
Hays says the riverboat company’s lease expired in July. Meanwhile, Gators had to battle back after an early summer storm almost sank the floating restaurant. The owners of the riverboat and operator of the restaurant have indicated an interest in submitting a proposal to operate a new facility.
The planned boat ramp, a joint project of the city and the state Game and Fish Commission, is awaiting final approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Hays is optimistic the boat launch and marina could be ready by next spring.
The Game and Fish Commission has allocated $315,000 in state marine fuel tax revenue to build the 60-foot-wide, 150-foot-long boat launch, a pavilion, courtesy docks and other facilities. The city spent about $250,000 acquiring property at the site that will link together with property it already owned.
Within 30 days, the city will advertise for a private operator to run a bait shop that would also include a boat fueling facility.
One goal of having the boat ramp and marina would be to land fishing tournaments, which could use the nearby arena for fish weigh-ins. Hays says such weigh-ins often attract thousands of spectators and could possibly fill the arena.
With the region on the verge of putting two professional hockey teams on the ice, some are betting that more central Arkansans will want to strap on skates themselves.
One such developer – again, one Hays won’t name – approached the city with a plan to build two ice skating rinks (with at least one big enough for regulation hockey games) in Burns Park. Hays says the out-of-state developer offered to build, staff and operate a non-profit skating facility if the city would donate the land at the park.
The city council agreed with Hays that the city should advertise for any others that might be interested in building the skating facility.
In November, Baptist Health will open its new, $53 million Baptist Memorial Medical Center in the Springhill area, near the confluence of Interstate 40 and U.S. Highway 67-167.
Plans are in the works for two hotels and a restaurant – some say a Cracker Barrel – to join a large doctors’ clinic on the hospital grounds. And Baptist Health has already struck a deal with the Riley Co. to build a 105-bed skilled nursing center at the site.
The old facility on Pershing Circle, along with some nearby doctors’ clinics, will likely sit vacant for a little while, as a mayor-appointed task force looks at possible future uses.
The city already owned the property and building, but Baptist paid off about $700,000 in remaining debt on the facility. The health system is also working with the city on finding a future use for the building.
A California theater chain is moving closer to building a 20-screen movie theater that has long been planned near the intersection of Interstate 40 and Interstate 30 and southwest of the Lakewood exit off Interstate 40. Hays says the $50 million theater project by the Edwards Theatre Circuit Inc. is a “probable go.”
The mayor says the developers hope to have the theater open in time for the 2000 Christmas season.
Taking a laser pointer, Hays charts out on a nearby city map the arena development, the future theater and the new hospital.
“You’ve got corridor here that is just going like gangbusters,” he says.
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