Nearly a dozen years have passed since John Burkhalter embarked on his Little Rock marina odyssey along the Arkansas River. Site work for the Rock City Yacht Club is finally in full swing, and the local businessman-developer expects to host the first wave of boating enthusiasts this summer.
If the current timetable remains intact, adjoining construction of the Residents at Harbor Town could be in motion by then. Foundational work on the 176-unit apartment project could be taking shape when the 12th anniversary of his land purchase rolls around in September.
“It’s been a long journey for me, and it’s time for me to deliver,” said Burkhalter.
In the bigger picture, his $30 million marina-apartment project represents a new anchor point to pull more downtown development eastward.
“The project is picking up with what started with the Heifer International headquarters and Clinton Presidential Library,” said Bill Wiedower, partner in Little Rock’s Heiple + Wiedower Architects, the design firm on Burkhalter’s development.
“That’s such a big deal, and there’s plenty of opportunity over there.”
Burkhalter’s financial involvement in that part of town began with buying property at the end of East Second Street for $900,000 in 2006.
In the years that followed, overly optimistic start dates came and went as he labored to negotiate a multilayered permitting process required to build on a navigable waterway.
The regulatory labyrinth was inhabited by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Coast Guard, Federal Emergency Management Agency and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Additional layers of state and local review and approval were required by the city of Little Rock, Arkansas Health Department and Arkansas Game & Fish Commission.
“Everything about this project has been laborious,” said Burkhalter, a civil engineer. “There were lots of crossing t’s and dotting i’s.”
By his count, it took three years to work out the details and finalize a land lease deal with the city of Little Rock. The 99-year lease agreement, dated Jan. 31, 2014, covers 4 acres on the western end of his property.
The leased land will house a boat repair shop, green space and parking for the public boat launch ramp. A downtown boat ramp has been on the city’s wish list for more than 55 years.
“I’ve made it very conducive for people to get in the water,” Burkhalter said.
A grand water fountain built around a naval artifact, a 30-ton aircraft carrier anchor, is planned as a centerpiece to the project.
According to the Pulaski County assessor, Burkhalter’s property covers nearly 15.3 acres and extends out into the river. By his measurement, the developable land covers about 16.5 acres, which includes the leased city property.
A river walk extension is envisioned to eventually connect with a walking-biking trail on the presidential library grounds.
The Second Try
Burkhalter’s effort is the second shot at developing a marina on the property. John “Mickey” Harbour optioned the site for a project he was going to call Lighthouse Point.
But that 2002 proposal remained dead in the water, prompting the city to move on and Burkhalter to step onto the scene.
Current activity is focused on first-phase construction of 150 boat slips and more backed with a $4.4 million funding agreement with First Service Bank of Greenbrier.
A $1 million grant from the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission is part of the funding formula for Burkhalter’s private-public venture. Other financial players include Conway’s Centennial Bank, which provided a land loan of $931,423 that dates back to January 2013; and the O’Kelley Family LLLP, representing the namesake trusts of James and Bobby O’Kelley of Conway, an $850,000 loan in October 2014.
Dock work on the water also will encompass a 2,000-SF marina store and deli along with shell space for a 6,000-SF, as-yet unnamed restaurant and bar.
Finish-out work on a floating restaurant-bar with seating for 200 should coincide with construction of the seven apartment buildings for Residents at Harbor Town.
All will be three stories except for one that will top out at four stories. The restaurant and apartments are projected to open in 2019.
Back in 2011, a five-story, 25-unit condominium tower was part of the development plan. At the time, Burkhalter said he already had lined up enough residents to make the condo component happen.
Condos are no longer part of the picture.
Burkhalter said he decided against introducing fragmented outside ownership through condos in favor of making the residential component of the legacy project apartments only.
Residents at Harbor Town will mark Burkhalter’s fifth upscale multifamily project in the market. His first dates back to 2007 with Lexington Park Apartments, a 288-unit project at 7601 Vestal Blvd. in North Little Rock.
Two other North Little Rock projects followed: the 432-unit Fountaine Bleau Apartments at 10801 Paul Eells Drive, opened in 2010; and the 216-unit Fountaine Bleau North at 4401 E. 46th St., opened in 2012.
The 243-unit Fountaine Bleau West opened in 2016 at 4216 S. Bowman Road in west Little Rock.
The Rock City marina isn’t a first for Burkhalter either. He has a stake in Echo Canyon Resort & Marina on Lake Ouachita.
“It’s been a journey, and I’m ready to get it to the finish line,” Burkhalter said of the Rock City project. “I want to get down there in my flip-flops and have some fun.”
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