arky
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Posts posted by arky
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I actually think this shopping center has accidentally positioned itself really well for the future. More and more of these development are going to be restaurant and activity heavy. The foot traffic is incredible even on weeknights due to the collection of restaurants and the theater. I think they should work hard to add things like gyms, etc, and move all the way towards a lifestyle center with a smaller retail presence.
Any word on what's going into the old Tavern location? They always seemed busy and there's a need in the market for that kind of restaurant - decent food but a great place to gather.
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I've been spending a lot of time downtown lately. I actually feel like it's better positioned than ever before despite the slow down in development. The AC hotel's undoubted success will begin to pull more activity out of the RiverMarket / Main Street corridors. The Lafayette building's conversion will only continue to serve these purposes.
That said, I'm perplexed with all the surface parking. There's little doubt there's more demand for apartments, new office products, etc - but I'm assuming the revenue from surface parking makes it uneconomical to convert at this point? Or are these owners just content to collect parking revenue while expecting a big price for their land? A price big enough that makes it not make sense to develop it?
It's just a little odd to me. MosesTucker and others see 90% occupancy on new apartments which is a clear indicator the market would support more of a good product. What's the hold back?
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On 4/19/2019 at 8:51 AM, SangreRaVen said:
New US Pizza location being built in WLR / Chenal Valley area. Not like we need anymore pizza places but eh, guess its better than nothing.
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Agree with you on the pizza place sentiment, but this helps fill a more important hole: places to grab a beer on a nice patio and watch a game.
Their food is fine, nothing special (to me), but it's always a nice casual place to gather. We need more of those in WLR.
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I tend to agree with both perspectives: service levels have definitely increased with more mainline aircraft, but it's well past time for LIT to start seeing better direct service. I tend to be an optimist but even I've been shocked by the level of growth in boardings at the airport over the last 18 months. 2018's growth was double that seen nationally and 2019 is 4x what is being seen nationally year to date.
We need to see NYC daily service added. It's been available in the past, we can support it, but the hub strategy is killing us in this regard. Hopefully we'll see it added soon.
I have little doubt a seasonal route somewhere to the panhandle of FL would have high traffic, though it doesn't seem to fit into the strategy of any of the larger players. Outside of NYC, what are the other potential routes that might make sense?
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On 9/18/2018 at 8:03 AM, Architect said:
Traffic jumped 10.5 percent last month compared with August 2017. It's the biggest percentage increase so far in 2018. There were 188,153 passengers this August compared with 170,192 in the same month in last year. The previous largest monthly percentage increase the month before, when passenger traffic increased 8.65 percent.
The latest increase has pushed traffic 4.31 percent higher in the first eight months of 2018 compared to the same period last year, for a total of 1,411,470 passengers (compared to 1,353,137 in the first eight months of 2017).
Pretty incredible numbers, really. Bodes well not just for LIT but the region as a whole.
It'd be huge to get back a NYC direct as well as something to SF or LA. With continued growth like this I'd think we'd be seeing more directs sooner rather than later.
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It would be great if this was built as rendered, was a huge success, and showed people that LR is ripe for these types of developments. Chenal and mid-town both could improve livability and become much more desirable over the next decade for outsiders if developers would hop on this train.
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6 hours ago, adman0468 said:
If the shopping center were razed, would it be roomy enough for a Costco or would they need to take over the center next door, as well? The Village is empty enough that I could see them being open to the idea.
Not sure both of them would even do it. Costco's are typically ~15 acres, the center that had Chili's and Dixie Cafe is ~9 acres, the center next door less than half that.
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6 hours ago, Architect said:
What is there to fight? I don't think anything along Main is in a "local ordinance" historic district (i.e. there are no design guidelines). Either way, I strongly support this project. It looks nice, modern and clean. An urban space, even a historic area, need not be homogenous in style.
Agree.
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1 hour ago, Arkanzin said:
Or the empty Dixie Cafe location.
Unfortunately this part of town doesn't seem to be able to hold it's own as development continues to move further west (and also back east in midtown / downtown). I don't have high hopes.
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Is the opposition just to the style of architecture? Surely it's not opposed to the use of the land itself.
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I'm beginning to think some chains are starting to outsource their real estate efforts to Chick-fil-a - i.e., simply following them wherever they go knowing it is a good location that will be extremely high-traffic. I've noticed many chains seem to congregate around CFA. I know this one's been there for a while but wouldn't be surprised if that entered the calculus when Chilis was evaluating real estate in the area, especially with that lot being vacant right across the street.
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On 4/11/2018 at 1:35 AM, theman said:
Simmons employees are starting to move into the former Acxiom building.
This should really help bring some more life to that block during the day. That building was mostly vacant and should now have over 300 people coming to work there everyday. With the continued growth of that bank, that number should only continue to increase.
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Has anyone seen occupancy or rate numbers for Little Rock lately? I was under the impression after the spurt of hotel openings in recent years that occupancy was a bit lower than what would drive new development.
Are we at risk of becoming saturated, or does the downtown sub-market outperform the market in general?
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3 hours ago, Architect said:
Yes and no. On the one hand, sure, demographic and technology trends allow more ready access to online and remote banking. On the other hand, there are still TONS of brick and mortar banks/branches, arguably than ever before. How could you NOT have a retail banking presence at your headquarters, downtown, where ±40,000 people work daily?
I bank with BofA and will be moving away from them soon for decisions like this.
All of their branches are understaffed in this areaand lines are ridiculous - I rarely go into branches and when I do it's a 20+ minute wait. No exaggeration. It's clear they are cutting costs and doing it at their retail branches.
I think this is more of an opportunity for this block than anything - bank branches are terrible, only open 40 hours a week, dead on nights / weekends. They should convert that lobby to restaurant or something creative.
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Nice to see VCC involved as well. Unlike several announced projects this should get completed.
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That's great news - I've long thought downtown needed to focus on 3 -6 story infill developments vs. the 15+ story condo towers that were the rage years ago.
An extended area well connected by a grid and filled with 3 - 6 stories is an extremely walk-able, dense environment. See DC, lots of SF, etc - you don't have to look like Manhattan to have a great urban neighborhood.
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16 hours ago, Architect said:
Can you add any clarity?
I don't have any unfortunately - was told just that a "reputable developer" had secured a site for a commercial project in the River Market.
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2 minutes ago, Architect said:
The Riviera is plagued by several factors, one being that the “improvements” are terribly designed and two, the floor-floor height in that building is extremely low from what I hear, discouraging would-be tenants (they should have considered creating some 2-story units to open up the floors). A tragic combo.
Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkInteresting. I had never been inside, but that makes more sense.
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Anyone heard rumblings of an commercial development in the River Market?
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On 12/29/2017 at 2:14 PM, skirby said:
Something to look forward to is a study being done for Rock Region Metro concerning the River Cities Travel Center. This block is being looked at for a transit-oriented development.
Interesting - what's a "transit oriented development?"
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13 minutes ago, Architect said:
Agreed...super lame. I guess the old Riverside Motors site/complex is already set up for automotive/industrial, so it's ripe for someone like Service Master to step in.
Even so, it's hard for me to believe the numbers on leasing to ServiceMaster vs. contributing the land to a redevelopment wouldn't be vastly superior in the latter.
I've also noticed the Riviera Condos are basically empty - looks like two or three at most lit up at night. I wonder how long until that investor has to convert those to rentals? The demand for rentals would undoubtedly be high there, but it's tough to sell a condo for $250k when you can get a decent house for that in the market.
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Been meaning to comment that a ServiceMaster in the old Mercedes dealership is a massive disappointment. That area has the potential to be a unique, quirky, interesting neighborhood but keeps missing every chance.
That property should have been redeveloped, and you'd think especially with the success of the RiverHouse development right across the way there'd have been more interest.
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I'm still seeing a direct AM flight to DTW and a return direct in the PM as far out as the booking window goes. I fly that route a decent amount so had panicked, maybe there was a quirk in their system?
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On 12/21/2017 at 8:19 PM, jb1087 said:
I saw articles from the local news channels about it. One was very generic, and the other made it seem like some kind of jet-bridge is being added to the B side, the side that Allegiant uses. Is there another carrier that would be similar in using that space like Allegiant?
I would still say the "other" and "nicer" side of the concourse still has open space, with 2 or 3 of the gates sitting empty and gate 12 not even having a jet-bridge attached. Little Rock gets by with 12 gates (next to arguably 13 at XNA if you count Allegiant's parking spot) and with 50% more passengers.
I agree, LIT always seems full and XNA always seems empty. Obviously XNAs massive growth would lead you to think it'd be overcrowded, but it's got more space per passenger than almost any airport I've been to. I love it for that reason, but I wonder why they prioritize number of gates like they do.
Restaurant Development in Little Rock Metro area
in Little Rock Metropolitan Area
Posted
- US Pizza opening a new location in WLR
- Three Fold owners redeveloping the old building across from Tropical Smoothie in Riverdale for new restraurant
- Bones steakhouse out of Hot Springs opening 2nd location in old Arthur's spot
- Big Boy Ramen opened in the Heights
- Burger place in old gas station in Hillcrest coming in next year
- Grubs set to open in former Chili's on Rodney Parham in next couple months
I know some lament the lack of large chains locating in LR, but the activity among local and localish chains continues to be strong.