Conway’s Central Landing Finally Gets Its Liftoff

Conway's former municipal airport is slated as the future home of Fountaine Bleau Apartments at Central Landing. (Parcel boundaries approximate)

Redevelopment of the 151-acre former municipal airport in Conway is finally active, with the construction of a $70 million, 339-unit Fountaine Bleau apartment complex on 18.7 acres.

And it’s “never been busier” at the site, Central Landing, said Jamie Gates, a Conway Development Corp. senior vice president. CDC, along with developer Jim Wilson & Associates of Montgomery, Alabama, submitted the winning bid of $6.1 million to buy the acreage from the city. But JWA backed out of the deal in November 2017, leaving CDC to purchase its shares of their joint venture and close on that transaction.

JWA also reversed plans to build a 302,708-SF center, The Shoppes at Central Landing. It would have had Dillard’s and other retailers, restaurants, apartments, a hotel and outparcels.

“The first phase of infrastructure was slow getting in,” Gates said. “That coincided with a time that there was a lot of anxiety among national retailers. Because of those and other factors, this turned into a project that is in no way ‘boilerplate.’ We and others who will develop here are looking at what the markets support today, not what they’ve supported for the last 10 years. I’m grateful that we didn’t build the last failing lifestyle or power center.”

CDC is now the sole owner of the property and hopes it will be a regional draw. “We feel good enough about the development where we’re in the planning stages to exercise our options on additional property. That could take it up to a 200-acre development,” Gates said.

He said CDC is looking into buying more land that adjoins Central Landing, or trading for it. The seller would be the city, and CDC’s budget for that transaction is about $42,000 per acre.

The apartments are just one of eight projects at the site, in various stages of redevelopment, Gates said. CDC expects to announce the other projects in the first quarter of next year.

They are retail, office and entertainment in nature, 3 to 30 acres, and their developers are end users, speculative investors and a combination of both, he said. One has the potential to use a large portion of Central Landing, Gates added.

Construction on the projects will begin before or immediately after they are announced, he said.

Central Landing got a boost when the U.S. Department of the Treasury named it an “opportunity zone” on June 15. That means “taxable gains are completely abated if they’re invested in any ‘business activity’ at Central Landing,” Gates said. “It’s premium real estate that is within an opportunity zone. So that makes it stand out. We just [in November] had our first conversation with a developer who was aware of that designation and planned to take advantage of it. … It is an exceptional incentive on top of the fundamental strengths of the site.”

Developer John Burkhalter, however, said the new designation wasn’t a factor for him because no one yet knows how the tax abatements will work. “They’re still grinding the sausage on this one and, at some point, hopefully, it is helpful to me, but I did not make my decision based on that,” he said. “I based my decision on Conway is ready for a development like this.”

Conway spent about $28 million to:

• Widen Sixth Street and its roundabouts;
• Construct Central Landing Boulevard (a north-south connector from Oak Street);
• Alter Interstate 40 entrance ramps;
• Add a median to Sixth Street;
• Widen and add a median to Bruce Street.

“It’s very self-evident that what the city and the CDC have done there is create a development, and I’m on the front end of the development,” Burkhalter said. “That is going to be extremely inviting, and I think that retailers throughout the country will be drawn to this location because it’s so well done.”

He added: “They’ve really invested for the long haul in the way they built their infrastructure. It’s amazing how they’ve taken this piece of property in the raw, and they’ve invested with the roundabouts, the lighting, the sidewalks. I commend Conway on what they’ve done. I look forward to being a partner with them.”

Gates’ comments on Central Landing struck a similar theme.

“It’s rare for a growing city to have a chance to do what is essentially greenfield development in their core — 200 acres visible from the interstate, walking distance from downtown,” he said. “It’s an exciting development but it’s also an important development. How it develops will greatly influence the future of about 1,000 acres in our city’s core.”

Gates emphasized that redevelopment opportunities remain at Central Landing and CDC is the point of contact for interested parties.

“It’s shaping up to be really regional in nature,” Gates said. “That’s exciting for us. Our plans for the development are for it to be more than just a local amenity. We want it to enhance what we’ve got for a real estate and economic development portfolio in central Arkansas.

“Everything we’re doing at Central Landing assumes a scale that goes well beyond ‘local.’ The shopping, office and entertainment products we’re planning for assume a market that mirrors the regional nature of our economy.”

Luxury Apartments an Untapped Market in Conway

The $70 million, 339-unit luxury Fountaine Bleau apartment complex being built on 18.7 acres of the 151-acre Central Landing site in Conway will be the first of its kind in Conway.

“No one is actually catering to the high-end market,” developer John Burkhalter told Arkansas Business in a recent interview. “I’ve watched Conway evolve through all the years and it’s ready. It’s ready for this product. I feel very confident we’re going to be very successful there.”

Bryan Patrick, director of the city’s Planning & Development Department, agreed that there is no equivalent to these apartments in Conway right now.

He also expects them to fill up, perhaps with company executives who want larger, luxury homes but not mortgages.

Burkhalter said he’d been looking to expand to Conway for a few years. His Fountaine Bleau Properties has apartment complexes in Little Rock and North Little Rock. Burkhalter expects the new complex’s three-story, all-brick buildings to open by June. His company will begin pre-leasing the apartments in March.

The 1,000 SF (one-bedroom), 1,200 SF (two-bedroom) and 1,400 SF (three-bedroom) units will rent from $1,049 to $1,539.

Burkhalter said they will have:

• Plank vinyl wood flooring;
• Fireplaces with marble mantles;
• Stainless steel appliances;
• Private balconies/patios;
• Garages for one-fourth of the residents;
• Thermostats that can be adjusted remotely with a smartphone;
• Doors that can be opened with a key fob, code or smartphone;
• Cameras that show residents who is at their front door (they can see the live feed on their smartphones) and more.

Burkhalter expects the gated community to draw a mix of young professionals, empty nesters and health care professionals.