The Promenade at Chenal’s Journey From Foreclosure to a $73M Deal with Tanger

Chris Monroe, left, and Greyson Skokos, principals at Moses Tucker Partners, lead the leasing effort at The Promenade at Chenal. (Jason Burt)

The $73 million acquisition of Little Rock’s Promenade at Chenal arrived nearly 20 years after the launch of its construction and the beginning of turbulent times for retail.

Its purchase in December by Tanger Inc. marks a continuation of the real estate investment trust’s expansion from a foundational portfolio of 38 outlet malls into upscale lifestyle centers.

The company made its first foray into this sector in December 2023 with the $193.5 million acquisition of the 825,000-SF Bridge Street Town Centre in Huntsville, Alabama.

In February, Tanger struck a $167 million deal to buy the 640,000-SF Pinecrest project, an open-air, mixed-use center in Cleveland.

The company tallies 98% occupancy across more than 16 million SF of retail space in 41 properties in 21 states and Canada, properties that are home to 3,000-plus stores operated by more than 700 different brand-name companies.

Tanger recorded net income of nearly $98.6 million during 2024 compared with more than $99.1 million in 2023. The company carries total assets valued at almost $2.4 billion.

“There was a ton of interest when this property went on the market,” said Chris Monroe, principal at Little Rock’s Moses Tucker Partners, which oversees leasing at the project. “It’s a good mix of local and corporate-credit tenants.

“This is the best retail asset in Arkansas. Nothing rivals it except maybe the [Pinnacle Hills] Promenade in northwest Arkansas, but we have Apple.”

That prestigious tech store also played a pivotal role in how the project developed under Red Development LLC of Kansas City, Missouri.

VCC, the Little Rock general contracting firm, started construction of the Promenade at Chenal in 2006 during stormy economic times. Sam Alley, VCC chairman, recalls Red Development battling to keep the project from crashing on takeoff when its single most important tenant began having second thoughts.

“Apple was going to back out of the deal, and they convinced them to stay,” Alley said of the effort to avert the catastrophic event.

“A lot of the leases they had were contingent on Apple being there. If Apple had pulled out, God knows what you and I would be looking at today.”

The Apple Store and J. Crew were names mentioned in co-tenancy clauses with other would-be tenants at The Promenade at Chenal during the early stages of development. Their arrival triggered more action on the leasing front.

Leasing activity at the Promenade at Chenal accelerated significantly in 2011 with more than 50,000 SF of tenants that opened or were announced.

Among the highlights were the Nike store, 12,000 SF; W by Azwell, women’s clothing, 10,000 SF; Apple Store, 7,500 SF; and J. Crew, 5,000 SF.

Change of Ownership

Red Development and its partners were washed out of the ownership in December 2019 after an affiliate of Pacific Investment Management Co. took over the project through a deed in lieu of foreclosure transaction.

That’s when Little Rock’s Moses Tucker Partners entered the picture as leasing agent for the project, which was struggling with occupancy at around 60%, two months before COVID-19 snowballed the challenges.

“It got worse fast,” said Chris Moses, president and CEO of Moses Tucker Partners.

“We’re over 90% [occupancy] at this point. It’s healthy, and new ownership is looking to maintain the boutique feel with the right mix of national and local retail.

“It was rough, but we had great ownership. All in all, it was a great success story for our firm, for central Arkansas and for shoppers.”

A sampling of the gone but not forgotten Promenade tenants include Del Frisco’s Grille, in June 2018, and two lingerie shops, Victoria’s Secret in 2020, which was preceded by its Pink store in June 2019.

The Nike store and Bravo! Cucina Italiana restaurant were among the 2020 casualties, along with J. Crew, which filed for bankruptcy protection amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Children’s Place closed in 2024.

New ventures that set up shop at the Promenade include City Silo Table + Pantry, which opened in 2017 in the former Pei Wei outparcel space owned by other investors.

It was joined by Lush Cosmetics in 2020; Fringe Clothing, Sephora health and beauty store and Urban Outfitters in 2021; and Sullivan’s Steakhouse and Sissy’s Log Cabin in 2022.

Among the 2023 additions are Ninth & Co. outdoor furniture, Houndstooth Clothing and Versona women’s apparel and accessories, along with the expansion of Gearhead Outfitters into the vacant Nike space.

Lululemon Athletica, the Canadian athletic clothing company, doubled the size of its 3,188-SF location in 2024. Last year also saw the opening of the Buttered Biscuit restaurant and Sono Bello, cosmetic surgery specialists.

“It was a tough assignment,” Moses said. “But we have a great team and are excited that we could help with the success of the center.”