Walter Hussman Asks City of Little Rock To Abandon Alley

We carry nostalgic memories of tossing baseballs, riding bikes and burning leaves in our childhood alley. Such is the intrinsic value of small-town Arkansas alleys.

Alleys in the heart of the big city present a different value, sometimes appreciated more in terms of monetary worth.

That distinction is brought home regarding an alley in downtown Little Rock that recently drew special attention at City Hall.

The 8,000-SF strip of land is situated in the middle of a parking lot along the north side of Capitol Avenue.

The alley, which on paper runs north to south between Scott and Cumberland streets, is indistinguishable from any other part of the parking lot because it hasn’t functioned as an alley for decades.

But it’s there: public land used commercially for years for private gain. Now, private enterprise is asking for an official public accommodation regarding the 20-foot-wide, 150-foot-long section of alley.

Representatives of Walter Hussman, the new parking lot owner, successfully lobbied for the city to formally abandon the public right-of-way represented by the alley.

That needed to happen in order for the publisher of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette to one day buy the property from the city and legally own the entire half block.

What is the public property worth, especially with unstated redevelopment ideas percolating for the parking lot?

Based on a 2013 alley transaction three blocks to the northeast, a low starting point for negotiations would be $84 per SF ($252,000).

That’s the rate Central Arkansas Library System paid for half of an alley along the western and southern edge of the Arcade Building at 100 River Market Ave.

The seller of that alley was represented by Moses Tucker Real Estate. The firm also represented Hussman in his 2015 alley right-of-way abandonment request.

No official purchase offer has been made yet.

We’re told Hussman continues to use the property free of charge while collecting parking rent, a benevolent legacy of municipal government extended to previous owners as well.

Meanwhile, some public policy questions linger in the aftermath of the alley abandonment process that occurred earlier this year.

Why abandon a public right-of-way without a stated change in use of the property?

Why abandon only the south half of the official alleyway?

Why hasn’t the city insisted on being paid for private parking on its public property?

The good stewards of city assets have more to consider.