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Park Avenue

skirby

By skirby
in Little Rock Metropolitan Area

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bchris02 Hamlet

bchris02

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Wow! Just stumbled upon this:

http://www.briarwoodlr.org/

Local neighborhood website coverage of the Park Avenue update reveals much more information and renderings of possible design!

Wow, that development looks amazing. Reminds me of something you would see in a truly urban city like Dallas or Houston. I know it mentioned no grocery store, but I think a Whole Foods would be a good fit for this development. I have seen them in many developments that look just like this in other cities.

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turboturtle Hamlet

turboturtle

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Wow! Just stumbled upon this:

http://www.briarwoodlr.org/

Local neighborhood website coverage of the Park Avenue update reveals much more information and renderings of possible design!

Quite the stumble! The Briarwood Neighborhood has benefited from a very active neighborhood association for 10+ years. Recall they got very involved when Simon tried to bring in a nightclub to University Mall. That neighborhood stands to gain the most from the development of Park Avenue.

Looking through the renderings, I am reminded that only one rendering of Midtowne ever surfaced. Now that Midtowne is developed, it is safe to say that one rendering accurately captured the personality of the development.

I'm particularly curious about this potential anchor, "a 30,375 sq. ft. anchor in the southeast corner of the site." It is not going to be the bookstore or movie theater. That location is prime frontage property. Anyone with some knowledge about why types of stores go into that size space? What else in our market is that size?

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turboturtle Hamlet

turboturtle

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Urban Land Institute drawing #1 from April 2001 report on the Markham and University corridor.

2314750104_b5347041aa_m.jpg

Urban Land Institute drawing #2 from April 2001 report on the Markham and University corridor.

2313935991_43062d736d_m.jpg

Credit goes to the Hillcrest Residents Association for getting the City to bring the ULI in to do the study. A much much smaller proposed project, than what is now Midtowne, instigated controversy because it was in a residential area. The timing also coincided with the proposed Summit Mall. The larger size and scale of the Midtowne project is directly attributable to this study.

Some bash the City's need to bring outsiders in to tell us how to do redevelopment, but they're wrong. The ULI assessment followed by deliberate planning by the Midtown Redevelopment Advisory Board show why real planning is essential for a quality City. This and the River Market District are successful models to be looked to for future developments in Little Rock and other cities.

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Aporkalypse City

Aporkalypse

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Wow! Just stumbled upon this:

http://www.briarwoodlr.org/

Local neighborhood website coverage of the Park Avenue update reveals much more information and renderings of possible design!

Great find. It looks like they have no intentions of watering down the original plans at all. The 3 floors of apts over retail is very similar to the Mockingbird Station development in Dallas's configuration that I had been referring to as what I envisioned for the site.

Briarwood must have a very active neighborhood association. I'm impressed.

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Aporkalypse City

Aporkalypse

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Its going to be very urban! How well do you think the apartments will do? I was hoping for some possible towers, but ill be happy for it to have some height. A target will be great, along with a borders and a movie theater.

I bet the apartments do very well with the UALR and UAMS students and young professionals in their 20s, [articularly if they can land a few restaurants and a ;pub.

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Stormcrow Whistle-Stop

Stormcrow

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I bet the apartments do very well with the UALR and UAMS students and young professionals in their 20s, [articularly if they can land a few restaurants and a ;pub.

I agree, I think they'll do extremely well. And you're right, that would be an excellent location for a pub of some sort! Easy access from 630 and plenty of local traffic as well. It would be a hit I think

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turboturtle Hamlet

turboturtle

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I agree, I think they'll do extremely well. And you're right, that would be an excellent location for a pub of some sort! Easy access from 630 and plenty of local traffic as well. It would be a hit I think

Sports bar, perhaps? plenty-o large flat screens to watch the Steelers go undefeated in 2009. Also, give us guys a break from all the retail.

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  • 2 weeks later...
LRguy21 Whistle-Stop

LRguy21

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Since Border's may put itself up for sell, the odds of it going into Park Ave. have gone down. The bookstore that may occupy the area by the theater may turn out to be Barnes and Noble. Barnes and Noble is looking into possibly purchasing Border's

Whats the difference between Barnes and Noble and Borders? What about a Books-A-Million?

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bchris02 Hamlet

bchris02

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Whats the difference between Barnes and Noble and Borders? What about a Books-A-Million?

Borders I've seen are usually quite a bit larger and trendier than Barnes and Noble. I have seen some nice Barnes and Noble stores also. Books-A-Million is a step below Borders/Barnes and Noble, and is usually (but not always) a small market store.

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turboturtle Hamlet

turboturtle

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Tuesday's NYT is going to run an article about the coming wave of bankruptcy filings by retailers. I noticed Blockbuster is bidding for Circuit City.

I'm posting this here because I am optimistic that the Park Avenue development will be a solid development because of the economic downturn. This site should become a healthy mixture of housing, office, entertainment, and retail. This assumes that the economy will improve in a year or two. I've seen some articles comparing what we're getting ready to go through as on par with the Great Depression. I don't believe that. But, the economic recovery may be very protracted, as much as ten years, as some are suggesting.

My thoughts about Park Avenue and the economic condition are that Strode will be forced to delay the development or be highly risk adverse. In doing so, he'll secure tenants who are proven to pay their leases during the doldrums.

Obviously this is a glass half-full perspective. I'm sure Strode would just assume that the economy be rocking along so he could begin to quickly begin to re-coop what he's had to invest into the property. We'll soon know what Strode's plans will be. I believe his plans are scheduled to be submitted to the Planning Department in May.

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Architect Town

Architect

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Posted

Tuesday's NYT is going to run an article about the coming wave of bankruptcy filings by retailers. I noticed Blockbuster is bidding for Circuit City.

I'm posting this here because I am optimistic that the Park Avenue development will be a solid development because of the economic downturn. This site should become a healthy mixture of housing, office, entertainment, and retail. This assumes that the economy will improve in a year or two. I've seen some articles comparing what we're getting ready to go through as on par with the Great Depression. I don't believe that. But, the economic recovery may be very protracted, as much as ten years, as some are suggesting.

My thoughts about Park Avenue and the economic condition are that Strode will be forced to delay the development or be highly risk adverse. In doing so, he'll secure tenants who are proven to pay their leases during the doldrums.

Obviously this is a glass half-full perspective. I'm sure Strode would just assume that the economy be rocking along so he could begin to quickly begin to re-coop what he's had to invest into the property. We'll soon know what Strode's plans will be. I believe his plans are scheduled to be submitted to the Planning Department in May.

Very insightful perspective.

And I agree regarding the "doom and gloom" predictions. The media has basically talked us into a protracting economy (well before even the (very real) mortgage crisis). After all, a recession is primarily a state of mind.

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