There’s a new vision and momentum surrounding a 10-year vacant property in downtown Hot Springs.
February 2024 marked a decade since a fire destroyed the Majestic Hotel, which had anchored the northern intersection of downtown since 1882. In its prime, the hotel was one of the most famous and luxurious in the South, hosting spring training professional baseball teams and 1920s-era underworld figures.
Between 2014 and 2018, the city of Hot Springs purchased the property, demolished the remains of the hotel and remediated the site. From 2019-2022, the city solicited two requests for proposals for redevelopment that did not yield a development.
The Hot Springs Metro Partnership has since stepped in and began marketing the site in 2023. The group assembled a committee of local volunteer business leaders representing finance, real estate, construction and business development to work on the project.
“As the business leaders of Hot Springs, we recognize the Majestic site is critically important to the future of our economy, and that we only get one chance to do something special here,” said committee Chair Scott Dews, who serves full time as Hot Springs market president for First Security Bank. “We are thinking big in terms of attracting a development that will define our city for generations to come.”
The committee has spent the past 18 months attempting to recruit a once-in-a-lifetime development that will provide the maximum benefit to the community and be the best fit for the site.
“We hosted a very serious prospect in November 2023 that is still interested in developing the site, and recently we’ve had great conversations with another developer who is interested in doing something with the Majestic,” Dews said. “Both groups have successful track records in development, and they have legitimate ties to Hot Springs and an authentic interest in the site, which is exciting for us.”
The city has established three guiding values for the potential project: enhance economic opportunities; improve local quality of life and the visitor experience; and respect the arts, culture and history of the city.
“We have a vision for the site that we’re calling Majestic Village, and this vision is connected to what most in the community would like to see,” Dews added. “This property sits at the base of world-class mountain bike trails, so we’re embracing that – think Breckenridge Village, Center Village at Copper Mountain. We’ve recently engaged a local architect to create renderings that will help us articulate this collective vision to generate further interest from potential partners and investors.”
The committee leaders say they will be patient in order to see a transformative project development for the community.
“We feel like this is a moment for our community where we do this right,” Dews added. “Good deals take time, and we want to take our time and do the right thing. Our committee is committed to this project until it’s complete, and we’re more excited and optimistic now than ever that we will have a project on the Majestic Site that we can all be proud of for generations to come.”
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