adman0468

Speaking of not enough parking - the La Madeline's lot seems tiny. And there's really no room for overflow. I guess we'll see once it opens.

Jonesboro!?!??!?!? I thought it was bad that Conway was before Little Rock, but Jonesboro? I still think they need a location at the Promenade. Maybe a free-standing building right behind Home Goods.

The Tipton Hurst outlet is gone. The store is empty and all signage has been removed. It's a location with good visibility for the right tenant.

That is property that is for sale. The original intent was for it to be the Dillard's location. When that died, I guess they held out hope that another department store would take it. If that were to happen, I could see a row of stores being built from J Crew/Lululemon back toward that lot. Macy's seems most likely and even that really doesn't seem very likely.

This link shows the tenant map updated just a few weeks ago. You can see where Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works will be. Also, there will be a Unique Threading in the same building. Mattress Firm will share Pei Wei's building. Doing a rough calculation of available square feet, there seems to be less than 40,000 sq. feet not taken. Personally, I see the lot behind Home Goods as the perfect place for H&M and some of the space across from Anthropolgie as ideal for Urban Outfitters. Then the rest can be filled in with a few more retailers. But that's just wishful thinking right now. https://reddevelopment.egnyte.com/dl/xPVGuwf0Y0

This hotel just seems a bit too far off the beaten path. I realize the River Market area is growing (and Main Street is, too), but right now it doesn't seem like the right place for it. Same goes for the Aloft IMO.

I'm almost positive that it will, if I remember correctly.

Overheard someone talking to the manager at the University Ave. LA Fitness and was told that they will be building a location in this area. All he knew for sure was that it was "near the Bass Pro Shop." He also said they were considering a Conway location, but that wasn't final yet.

Looking at these plans again, those buildings are pretty big, the back two are about the same size as the current Lexus dealer. My guess is that these will be the new home for other Parker lines - maybe Porsche and either Mini or Audi. Since they want to do them in phases, I think it may be as they either acquire new brands (Porsche) or move existing ones (Audi, Mini).

Auntie Anne's Pretzels has closed. I noticed another five empty spots throughout the mall. Hope that's all the post-christmas hemorrhaging they have.

Parker Lexus is asking for permission to build new buildings just north of their current location. It is to be built in phases and will eventually be three separate buildings, each with a showroom and service area. It sounds like it could almost be three separate brands. Not sure if it will just split up the current Lexus line into specific areas (one for the utes, one for the sedans, etc.) or if it would allow a new name (Porsche?) to enter the market. Anyone have any scoop? http://www.littlerock.org/CityDepartments/PlanningAndDevelopment/MeetingAgendas/Agendas/PDFs/pc_item13.pdf Here's the sketch: http://www.littlerock.org/CityDepartments/PlanningAndDevelopment/MeetingAgendas/Agendas/PDFs/Z-6526-C%20SKETCH.pdf

The empty area next to DSW is the worst to me. It's a huge vacant area and appears dark at night. Extra traffic in that area would help the things across the parking lot as well. The Just For Dogs, Paul's Shoes, Portrait Innovations is a weak draw compared to what is happening at the other end of the center.

While I wish that these were names that were new to the city, I still think it's a good thing. I assume Pei Wei will be an outparcel, but the others should occupy some of that empty space in the main shopping area. I assume one will take over the old W location and the other can take another vacant area or even the never-developed section next to DSW. I think Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works were both on the original list before the center opened. Maybe a few of those other names will end up arriving, too.

It's the sit-down Asian restaurant in the Promenade. Pretty good food. Prices are a hair above Fantastic China or Fu Lin, but not much. And the quality is very good. It's never seemed busy though. And Chi's has their version of Pei Wei basically across the street, so it will be interesting to see who survives.

I heard that Schickel tried pretty hard to get Pei Wei but wasn't successful. Not sure what the problem was. I'm a little surprised that A.W. Lin's doesn't have a no-compete clause, but maybe sit-down Asian vs. fast-casual Asian are considered two separate things, kind of like Big Orange and McDonald's.

The Democrat-Gazette yesterday said that Pei Wei will be opening a new location in the Promenade. It will share a building between McDonald's and Del Frisco but the other tenant has not signed a lease yet. This link shows the location. http://x.lnimg.com/attachments/95BAF4F2-B060-4EA6-9297-2FF2426D674F.pdf I'm glad to see the outparcels fill up (the one behind HomeGoods is still just dirt) but I wish the center itself wouldn't have so many vacancies. The DSW building is half empty and they haven't found anything yet to replace that women's store next to Lululemon.

The current issue of AY has an ad for the Promenade which lists "Lily Rain" as coming soon. Based on the store's website, it appears to be a women's clothing, jewelry and accessory store with locations in a handful of states, including two in the Dallas area. Their website says that it is coming to the Promenade in Winter 2015 in probably the old RK Collections space. On a separate note, I dined at Del Frisco's Saturday night and was impressed. Everything our table tried left a good impression. The steaks are top-notch and the sides and other entrees are good, too. Service was a little overzealous and occasionally bumpy, but pretty good for an opening night. I see it eating into Ya Ya's business, as it reminds me a lot of it, but a hair pricier.

The Nike Factory Store has been announced for the Gateway Town Center. I'll assume that means the end of the one in the Promenade. Not good because that's a huge space to try to fill. Also, the Lucky store has announced for the GTC. That was originally proposed for the Promenade back when it was first under construction.

I think the Bass Pro Shop may have it in their contract to keep outdoors companies out of the outlet mall. Also, Lucky Denim was a name announced for the Promenade back when it was still under construction.

I wonder if Rack Room will keep their Shackleford Crossing location. They seem awfully close and I don't think that location is going gangbusters.

This was from the Democrat-Gazette's April 18th edition: Deltic Timber Corp. will spend $8 million over the next year to expand Rahling Road in west Little Rock, Ray Dillon, chief executive officer of the El Dorado firm, said Friday. Rahling Road will be widened by two lanes from the end of the divided street to Hinson Road to handle an increase in traffic between Chenal Parkway and Arkansas 10. Deltic already has begun work on the project with the removal of acres of trees on a hill near the Rahling Road intersection with Pebble Beach Drive. Deltic will use dirt from the hillside as fill for the street expansion, Dillon said. By using the on-site dirt, there won't be a need for any dirt to be hauled to or away from the site, said Tim Daters, the principal engineer with White-Daters & Associates of Little Rock, which is working with Deltic. The $8 million investment will bring to $17 million what Deltic and other property owners have spent on Rahling Road. Since 1989, Deltic has invested more than $75 million in public infrastructure in Chenal Valley, the firm said. "[The widening] goes back to the commitment we made to the city of Little Rock [20 years ago] and the fulfillment of that commitment," Dillon said. Deltic expects more projects, such as single-family, multifamily and retail-office projects, will be considered by developers after work on Rahling Road is finished in about a year, Dillon said at a groundbreaking. Deltic has received zoning for such projects, but has had no active discussions with developers, Dillon said. The reason is the company wants to complete construction on Rahling Road, he said. "It's much easier for the developer to understand once they see where the entrances are," Dillon said. "Deltic develops the land but then we market the land to the vertical developers -- residential homebuilders and commercial real estate developers who build [the projects]." The new residential construction will be near the tree line above the dirt work, Daters said. There will be one multifamily project near the Village at Rahling Road apartments, Dillon said. The office-retail space will depend on the need, Dillon said. "There could be a series of office sites or there could be a couple of large office sites," Dillon said. There is no timetable or cost estimate for any of the projects, Dillon said. "It depends on how the economy improves and then as the need arises," Dillon said. Since development activities in west Little Rock began in Chenal Valley in 1986, 2,846 lots have been developed in 35 neighborhoods with about 2,568 homes constructed or under construction, Deltic said in its Form 10-K annual federal filing. When fully developed, Chenal Valley could have about 4,600 single-family residences, the filing said.

Chenal Development is clearing that in anticipation of it being utilized, but nothing is committed at this time. I think it's zoned for multi-family and office, so pretty typical stuff. I doubt it will stay vacant for long.

Add Wilson's Leather and Bass & Co., based on plumbing permits.

Based on their current locations, they don't seem to do multiple in one market unless it's a really large one like Dallas. For example, Shreveport, LA, and Jackson, MS-area each only have one location. Jackson's isn't actually in the city of Jackson, so I guess there's a precedent, but I'm surprised LR's only one will actually be in Conway. Was really hoping this would be in the Promenade.

Wasn't Ken Rash forced to move because of the widening? I think that's why the shopping center where Slim Chickens is going was emptied out, too. The configuration will have to be different so the old building has to be torn down.