luvhotsprings

Recently, the Hot Springs market has been hit hard with the ever-changing retail scene. Hot Springs Mall has had some more casualties to add their list since last time. Zales and Don Juan's have closed, while it looks like Uniq, a clothing boutique that opened a year ago, is closing, along with Kay Jewelers. When you walk through the mall, you're ALONE. Down the street, at Cornerstone Marketplace, Homegoods is down to its final two weeks, and rumors are Office Depot is closing! Those are two huge spots that will be empty, but Ulta Beauty is about to open and Dolce Gelato is expanding to a bigger space. A Hanger Clinic will house the remaining spot in the Fairgrounds Crossing development, making it 100% occupied for the first time since it was built. Verizon Wireless opened a new store, on Albert Pike, in the old Bedding Mart building, in front of Wal-mart. Downtown, the Arlington has sold to a new developer which plans to renovate the Arlington back to its former glory. Also, the Aristocrat is supposed to be turned into condos!! I'm so excited that downtown is having a resurgence of life in it! Will's Cinnamon Shop and the Malco are in the process of being renovated and are soon to open.

Homegoods will be closing their Cornerstone Marketplace location for their new store in Benton. Homegoods will be closing by August 6th.

Sephora will be opening a store inside JCPenney at Hot Springs Mall. Wacky Weiner is opening a restaurant in the mall, along with a location in the Mowery-Wyatt center on Albert Pike. Another store, CJs Consignment will be opening in the mall. Ollie's Bargain Outlet will be opening it's first Arkansas location in the Central City Shopping center; it is supposed to be approximately 40,000 square feet. On the west side of town, The Harvest Foods building is being refurbished, with rumors being that the former Harvest Foods will either be a gym or a Brookshire's Grocery. In front of the old Harvest Foods building, First Security finished refurbishing the old Allstate building, but Orange Leaf has went out of business.

T-Mobile will be opening in the former Verizon Wireless space on Albert Pike. Downtown, the hotel, The Waters, has opened, and the Beef Jerky Outlet has announced a location in the Wade Building next to the Arlington. Also downtown, Argentinian Coffee and Wine Bar & Thai Me: Downtown will be opening soon in the former building which housed Chez Julie Gifts. Will's Cinnamon Shop has bought the building at 1001 Central Avenue, and they plan to renovate the building and open by summer. The new building being built on Ouachita Avenue will house Mountain Valley Armory, which is moving down the street.

Fred's will be closing on Airport Road. Verizon Wireless is no longer next to Anytime Fitness on Albert Pike. I said earlier that Ulta was going where Mattress King and TCBY was, but it's most likely going in where Hibbetts Sports was, since it has a Cornerstone Marketplace address.

Two tenants have been announced for the East Ridge commercial development at the corner of Carpenter Dam and Malvern Avenue. Relyance Bank will be building a branch, along with Citizens Bank. This Citizens Bank location will be Hot Springs' headquarters. Also, a "popular coffee shop" was mentioned, when tenants were announced today in the paper. Citizens Bank plans on opening five more locations in the Hot Springs area over the next few years, adding to the two locations already in Hot Springs. In downtown, a jazz bistro will be located in the Citizens Building. The jazz bistro is named, Legoria's Rhythm & Rocks Jazz Bistro; it will be located on the second floor of the Citizens Building. Also, at 249 Ouachita Avenue, the Downtown Historic District will welcome its first new construction in years. A new store has recently opened up downtown, too: Metaphysical Connection in the 100 block of Central Avenue.

TCBY and New Images Boutique moved out of Cornerstone Marketplace. New Images Boutique has moved to Temperance Hill Square, and TCBY is moving next to United Medical on Higdon Ferry. The TCBY will be a TCBY/Mrs. Field's combination. In place of the old TCBY and old Mattress King spots in Cornerstone Marketplace, Ulta Beauty will be opening a store. Mattress King moved to the old Luxe Boutique spot. On Airport Road, Harvest Foods has went out of business, and First Security Bank will be opening in the shopping center with Foxy Nails and Orange Leaf.

The old Wendy's building on W. Grand will be a Hardee's!! It is expected to open early next year. The franchisee for Hardee's also wants to put another location on Central Avenue. Another tenant has been announced for Central City Shopping Center (the old flea market) - Citi Trends. Today, the most recent addition to the Majestic Hotel was torn down. Hopefully the city plans to put something there other than an empty lot!

The old Wendy's building, on W. Grand, has recently sold!! I'm excited to see what will occupy the building. Wingstop will also be opening in the old Mooyah's spot in Dogwood Landing, across from Walmart on Central. Little Rock Bank of Mortgage and Arkansas Blood Institute will be locating in Keystone Crossing, being built on Section Line Road, across from Bear State Bank.

Thanks!!

Demolition begins on the Lanai Tower Suites next week, and demolition of the entire Majestic Hotel is expected to be complete by November, according to the Sentinel Record. Also, 726 Central Ave., in downtown, is being turn into apartments, according to plumbing permits. Central City Shopping Center has begun renovations of the old Central City Marketplace, and one of the new tenants is Planet Fitness. There are three other spaces - one that is 20,000 sq. feet & the other two are approximately 15,000 sq. feet each. Towneplace Suites is building a hotel on Corporate Terrace, off Central Ave. A small strip center is also going to be built next to Mary's Nails. Lastly, First Security is going to be building their second branch in the Hot Springs area, with a branch on Malvern Ave.

Central Station Marketplace has officially closed; they plan on moving to Temperance Hill Square. There has still been no announcements for the new tenants that are supposed to fill the space, but the space is to be remodeled. Sonic is going to be building a new location at 3741 Malvern Avenue, where a gas station is currently located, across from the Munro Shoe Factory. Downtown related, scaffolding has been taken down on the Thompson Building, and they are working on the entrance. The building looks absolutely beautiful. Also, a new apartment complex is to be built downtown. I love that downtown is gaining its vibrancy back from the "Golden Ages".

I, too, went into that particular location when I visited the outlet mall, and the selection was very limited and it was a small store.

I have no idea. Sorry I am of no help!!

Aeropostale, after announcing Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, it is closing the location in Hot Springs Mall. Aeropostale will also close their Park Plaza location in Little Rock and their Pinnacle Hills location in Rogers. With the recent closure of Goody's, Great American Cookie Company, and Aeropostale, the mall's fate is growing grimmer & grimmer. Someone needs to restart & build an outdoor-type mall in place of the mall right now.

Bids are being taken for the Majestic Hotel, for demolition of the red brick and Lanai Towers of the Majestic. I could certainly see a nice mixed-use, with retail and office space on the bottom floor and apartments/lofts upstairs, go well at the cornerstone of downtown Hot Springs! I think with the demolition of the Majestic - which is sad - will spur even more redevelopment of Park Avenue and Whittington Avenue. Also, Central City Flea Market is closing May 22nd, and supposedly the building will be torn down for a new strip center. Tropical Smoothie also opened last Monday in the former Si's Coffee and Donuts in the same shopping center. Both Walmart Neighborhood Markets are nearing completion, and O'Reilly Auto Parts is just weeks away from opening up their second location on Airport Road, not far from the new Neighborhood Market opening in the coming months.

Tosha Kitchen Indian and Pakistani Cuisine will be opening in Vina Morita's old spot. Also, downtown, the Howard Johnson has been completely demolished and the land is now vacant.

RadioShack will be closing in front of Walmart on Central. Also, Tropical Smoothie Cafe is opening in the old Si's Coffee House in front of the Central City Flea Market.

After nearly two years to the date, the Majestic cleanup has finally started! Cleanup is expected to take 3-4 weeks for the yellow portion of the building; the Lanai Towers and the red brick portion have an undetermined future. Vina Morita has moved from it's old location next to the downtown post office into the Springs Hotel. An Indian restaurant is supposed to take Vina Morita's old spot. The new owners of the new mall have been very transparent on their recent posts regarding to requests. The new owners are looking at tenants such as Forever 21 and Hollister. Goody's is closing in March, so that would be a perfect location for a Forever 21. New signage is also supposed to arrive in the next few months. Down the street, Mooyah's has closed and will reopen under a different name and a different restaurant concept. Lastly, the city of Hot Springs has hired a new city manager, David Frasher, from Oregon City, Oregon. He is expected to be the serving city manager starting March 31st.

The old Howard Johnson is in the process of being torn down and will be used for First Methodist. I believe this will clean up the corner considering some of the blight in the surrounding areas. Also, down the street Wendy's closed down and is reportedly building a brand new building. New Balance is also building a store off of Malvern Avenue across the street from the library not too far from the new Neighborhood Market that is in the process of being built. Lastly, Sam's Southern Eatery is taking the old El Parian building, which is a small regional chain in Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas, with locations in Little Rock, Jonesboro, and Pine Bluff.

Apparently, AT&T is moving from it's current location on Albert Pike, to a new location in the old USA Drug building at the corner of Airport Road & Albert Pike. Also, another CVS is going to be built across from the Walgreens at the corner of E. Grand and Malvern Ave. There doesn't seem to be a lot of room in that area for a CVS land wise, but if I would have to guess, I would guess the gas station across the street will be torn down.

Hot Springs has it's first Indian restaurant, Taste of India. It is in the Travelodge Hotel at 1204 Central. It is where Hester's used to be, but new owners of the hotel forced Hester's out. I'm glad Hot Springs is finally starting to get some diverse options of food - with a Thai, Vietnamese, and Indian restaurant opening in less than a year, it is exciting. Also, Great Clips will have a location in Cornerstone Marketplace.

The Hot Springs Metro Partnership has announced an Innovation Hub for the city. This will help bring more jobs to the area, which are needed badly. Also, the McDonald's on East Grand is being remodeled, so hopefully the McDonald's on Albert Pike and north Central will be the next ones to be remodeled.

Ground has broken for both Walmart Neighborhood Markets & ground has also broken for Keystone Crossing. Word has it that Tropical Smoothie Cafe is going to put a location in Hot Springs. I would guess it would either locate in the shopping center being constructed next to CVS or Keystone Crossing. Also, El Parian closed.

Downtown great things are happening. The Thompson Building has started renovating and have started putting scaffolding up. The downside is the current tenants on the bottom floor have to move to new locations as the first story will be used as a lobby and the hotel restaurant. Also, Vina Morita is moving from its current location downtown to a much bigger spot - The Springs Hotel.