Little Rock/Conway Development (North Little Rock, Clinton: for sale, apartments, rental)

[photolitherland]

Other than the new Hendrix College urbanist development, what else is being built in downtown Conway or Little Rock? Are there any new condos being built anytime soon and or are any of the old buildings on Main St. in Little being converted to condos or apartments? Basically, can anyone tell me of any urban developments going on in either cities?

[thewizard16]

You'll find more of this type of information on urbanplanet- it's more focused on development and construction, where this forum tends to be more relocation focused. I'll try to give you a quick update though:

The Village at Hendrix is probably the largest commercial development in Conway right now, but there have been numerous hotel and restaurant construction projects occurring as well. I don't know anything about construction in their downtown area though.

Little Rock has had a lot of property changing hands downtown lately, but not a whole lot of news on what some of the new owners have planned for the long term. The former KARK building downtown has been demolished and the site is being cleared- short term plan is parking for the offices next to it, long term is supposedly parking+office building, but no one knows of what size. The Lafayette Square development never materialized as Tower planned, but the completed condo building has been slowly filling more units and increasing the number of residents in that slightly more southern part of downtown. They're by far the cheapest new condos available in the immediate downtown area right now, but have suffered from a lack of redevelopment surrounding them, Tower Investments dropping their plans for the nearby buildings, and parking issues. The former YMCA building changed hands and is supposedly undergoing renovations to convert it to office and retail space, I haven't paid much attention to it lately so I don't know how that is progressing, but the last I'd heard they already had several inquiries for both retail and office space in the building once it is renovated. The parking lot across the street from it recently sold for nearly a million dollars to an out-of-state group- no news on plans for the property, but the price seems high to just keep it as a surface pay-parking lot. 315 S. Main downtown is being converted into a jazz-themed restaurant (with live music in the evenings) on the first floor, and higher-end apartment lofts above that, at an appealing price point for apartments of that quality. They projected completion of the project by later this year, but that appears unlikely due to weather delays, etc. It will mark the first residential/commercial development on that block of Main Street in a long time. The M.M. Cohn building across the street from it is for sale after Tower Investments plans for that area fell through, so if the K-Lofts at 315 S. Main are successful, that may spur some redevelopment in that block and help push the revitalization of Main and a more cohesive connection with the River Market closer to reality. Numerous commercial developments have occurred downtown lately, with the completion of Dugan's pub at the River Market tower, Brown Sugar Bakery and Zin Urban Wine and Beer Bar in the Tuf Nut loft building, etc. that is making that area more active at night and hopefully encouraging future development in that area. Tuf Nut also added new ground-level loft apartments recently that I believe are now full. The Block 2 Lofts downtown changed ownership not too long ago and were recently used to secure a significant financing agreement- but no word on what the money is to be used for yet. Rental units in downtown have the highest occupancy rate of anywhere in the Little Rock metro region- as the economy gains a little more momentum, it seems logical that developers will be interested in taking advantage of that fact. Don't expect any new high-end condo development until the rest of the River Market Tower and Lafayette square fill up a bit more- right now it's a buyers market and new towers are hard to justify financially. The The Vertical Lofts (another new urbanist type development) by Union Station also have a significant number of units available right now, and the recently renovated Riviera Condo building in Riverdale has had difficulty selling units in the recession, so give that market a couple years to adjust before developers start testing the waters again. The ultra-high end units at the Statehouse Plaza (attached to the side of the Doubletree hotel on the riverfront) are almost all empty right now, so the $1million+ market is likely pretty saturated right now. 300 3rd was a dramatic success and the River Market Tower has been doing pretty well considering the economy, so I expect future condo development will happen, just not quite yet. The Museum of Discovery in the heart of the River Market is undergoing an expansion and remodeling that will involve new exhibits and a new, more attractive, entrance facing the River Market. The wetlands park and Clinton Bridge project by the presidential library are both moving along nicely, and should be completed by the end of 2011, which will provide new park space and a new pedestrian connection between Little Rock and North Little Rock. North Little Rock has also had numerous projects going on in the Argenta district, but I'm not as up-to-speed with what they have happening across the river.