Thanks for the article. It also talks about a new restaurant in south Fayetteville called Asian Fusion. It will fuse Chinese, Indonesian and Indian food. It will be at the old Elenita's location. Sounds like it could be interesting.

KMarks - I might be interested to assist if you could provide more information. Please PM me. Thanks.

But that guy changes restaurant menus/concepts more often than I change socks.

Work continues on the City Grove Townhomes.

I love La Madeleine but I think LR is a very small market for them. It's an obvious perfect fit for the development and neighborhood. I'm kind of surprised Chili's picked Chenal and vice versa but living nearby, I don't mind. The Chili's on Rodney Parham is overcrowded and frankly West LR could probably support 3.

Interesting note on Bravo's, Jerry Bakarat (owner of Gaucho's, Terrace on the Green, Arthur's and Sesame's) is putting in an Italian restaurant in the old Gaucho's location at Village at Rahling Road, right across the street from Promenade at Chenal.

That is indeed amazing- how could a bank justify making a loan to someone who has the amount of legal action against them that Barber does? With all the NWA real estate problems and Barber's in particular you would think every bank would be scrutinizing every attempt to get credit with a leaning towards refusing it. Makes one think there is more to the story than we know.

Those are the only restaurants I've heard mention of, although people on this site have speculated about Ruth's Chris. Interesting restaurants are important - look at Pleasant Ridge. That shopping center doesn't excite me at all except for the restaurants. And with the Promenade's main street feel, even a Chili's is going to feel like a different experience if you can have some outdoor seating or at least views out onto something other than a huge parking lot. That said, I'd much rather see better alternatives than Chili's. Bravo seemed like a nice idea, so would La Madeline's. I love those in Dallas.

Plans are in the works for a development in the 400 block of Main. The developers want to build a five story addition to the back of two buildings
now there. The first floor would be for parking and the the other four would be for condos.

I keep waiting on confirmed restaurants to be announced. I think this component could make or break this development because most of the stores are "seconds" in the market, so if they could bring in some new to the market dining options it would really bring the excitement level up a notch. I know Chili's and the Bravo Italian place have been mentioned but I have never seen anything confirming them. I hope they bring more than that. I agree with the previous posters that it is a very nice looking development, especially compared to other new centers around the state, but I am definately hoping for more exciting restaurants than Chili's. Anybody heard any rumors regarding dining at the Promenade???

I agree, very interesting article, Andrew. Everybody should take a look at it. This was orginally mentioned in another topic but since it talks about the Lofts I thought I'd put a response here.


http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.as...17110&cID=2

If the city denies this it would be one of the dumbest moves that it has made.

Kudos on the Rob Sharp article in NWA Business Journal, Andrew. I knew he was very active in Fayetteville but didn't realize how many projects I like that he has had a hand in. The story about people telling him about how that hate the Three Sisters and not knowing he was involved in it was hilarious. That was a great addition to town although I wish they would take that top floor room off.

All about the Pinnacle White Oak Station

http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2008/05/...108morrison.txt

I keep waiting on confirmed restaurants to be announced. I think this component could make or break this development because most of the stores are "seconds" in the market, so if they could bring in some new to the market dining options it would really bring the excitement level up a notch. I know Chili's and the Bravo Italian place have been mentioned but I have never seen anything confirming them. I hope they bring more than that. I agree with the previous posters that it is a very nice looking development, especially compared to other new centers around the state, but I am definately hoping for more exciting restaurants than Chili's. Anybody heard any rumors regarding dining at the Promenade???

I will be very surprised if the hotel actually happens - I think the parking deck will win out. Suburban minded people (as a whole) in this part of the country just dont understand whats so appealing about a walkable urban district downtown with these kinds of amenities. Its not just Little Rock; OKC and Tulsa make silly decisions in their downtowns as well. Tulsa was supposed to get a new baseball stadium but instead decided on a Wal-Mart Supercenter right in the middle of downtown.

As for the hotel, if we end up getting it that would be exciting. Is there any possible location other than Markham and Scott?

It is just sort of hard to understand the inability to get financing when Brandon Barber can still get a $17M loan from Enterprise Bank in Mo. for the Bellafont in spite of all his problems and the "credit crisis" we keep hearing about.

On Kavanaugh...Heights or Hillcrest?

Has anybody on UP tried Cupcakes on Kavanaugh yet? That place is amazing! Best cupcakes I have ever had! They have traditional flavors and a couple of specialty flavors each day. The only problem with the place is its hours which are noon-5pm. I spoke with the owner when I was in there last and he said they were considering opening stores up in WLR and possibly Fayetteville. The place is very similar to the Sprinkles chain that are in larger cities. You can tell our market has been wanting something like this because every time I have been in there it has been packed with the line extending to the door. As a resident of WLR I am definately pulling for a WLR location (I think Pleasant Ridge would be a perfect spot for this type of store).

At Metro District, 15 of the 30 condos have either sold or are under contract since the first of the year. Seven are being occupied in a "lease-to-own" plan, where if the tenant decides to buy, their rent payments will be applied to the purchase price. So that's 22 of 30 with people in them. That's a lot better than the Legacy.

I visited the RM today. Here are some thoughts...

Can't wait for the completion of the CALS Arkansas History archives project.

You guys must have gotten close! Are you just driving around?

The NLR entryway almost ready for opening day.



Time to remove the paper boxes.

That lot is next to Block2, right? Stephens wanted to buy Block2. Someone else has Block2 now, but...

Wow. Just got this week's edition of Arkansas Business, and in the "Whispers" section they have two sub-articles on the planned W Aloft Hotel at the corner of Scott and Markham. The writer seemed almost as dumbfounded as we have been over why the city would hold a 12-15 story hotel development hostage over some ill-fated idea of a parking deck along the most prime urban real estate in Arkansas. The article went on the quote the developer, who had actually already met with current mayor Mark Stodola, former mayor Jim Dailey, and members of the Advertising and Promotion Commission, and it clearly came off as if the city was opposed to the development, even talking about imminent domain over his purchase!

Wow. Just wow. This is inept beyond comment.

Wow. Just got this week's edition of Arkansas Business, and in the "Whispers" section they have two sub-articles on the planned W Aloft Hotel at the corner of Scott and Markham. The writer seemed almost as dumbfounded as we have been over why the city would hold a 12-15 story hotel development hostage over some ill-fated idea of a parking deck along the most prime urban real estate in Arkansas. The article went on the quote the developer, who had actually already met with current mayor Mark Stodola, former mayor Jim Dailey, and members of the Advertising and Promotion Commission, and it clearly came off as if the city was opposed to the development, even talking about imminent domain over his purchase!

Wow. Just wow. This is inept beyond comment.

I visited the RM today. Here are some thoughts...

Can't wait for the completion of the CALS Arkansas History archives project.

The vacancies inside the RM Pavilion are a disappointment. I think the management has really screwed up.

The Arkansas farmer defects from the River Market Farmer's Market to the NLR side, which includes most of the organic growers, is also evidence of the mismanagement. We checked-out Joey Hardin's efforts at 4th and Main in NLR. It had most of my favorite farmer's, but wasn't as fun to go to. I blame the River Market Management for letting it come to that. It is really not worth going to the farmer's market if I have to find parking twice and drive and extra 2 miles to complete what I used to be able to do with one stop.

On a positive note....

The children's playground appears to be shaping up nicely. It could become a very strong attraction for young families all by itself.

Interesting theory. Who knows. Hard to imagine, in that scenario, what they'd have up their sleeve that would be of greater significance or importance.

just devils advocate here...

Could the City have an ulterior motive? A parking deck is justification for imminent domain because of the public use. Might there be some other development interest that is in conflict with the Hotel? If this were the case, it would warrant a lawsuit.

This is probably quasi-conspiratorial, but I suspect there is a vision (shared by a few) for this area that precludes the hotel.

I agree that a replication of the public parking deck in the River Market in this spot would represent grossly incompetent use of space.

Wow. Just got this week's edition of Arkansas Business, and in the "Whispers" section they have two sub-articles on the planned W Aloft Hotel at the corner of Scott and Markham. The writer seemed almost as dumbfounded as we have been over why the city would hold a 12-15 story hotel development hostage over some ill-fated idea of a parking deck along the most prime urban real estate in Arkansas. The article went on the quote the developer, who had actually already met with current mayor Mark Stodola, former mayor Jim Dailey, and members of the Advertising and Promotion Commission, and it clearly came off as if the city was opposed to the development, even talking about imminent domain over his purchase!

Wow. Just wow. This is inept beyond comment.

As far as The Dickson, that ain't happening. Collins Haynes has divested his interest in the Mr. Tux property, and we hear the building is simply going to be renovated, probably with a spa tenant.

At Metro District, 15 of the 30 condos have either sold or are under contract since the first of the year. Seven are being occupied in a "lease-to-own" plan, where if the tenant decides to buy, their rent payments will be applied to the purchase price. So that's 22 of 30 with people in them. That's a lot better than the Legacy.

With Flake & Kelley marketing the Legacy, we might finally see something happen there. They have credibility, something Barber does not, and they are well connected in the affluent LR and Hot Springs circles, which means they'll be having open houses that aren't glorified keggers. Even though the building has liens and is in foreclosure, the receiver can grant clear title to anyone who wishes to buy a unit.

At the Lofts, around half the deposits are from out-of-staters and the rest are local. Judging by the number of small aircraft at Drake Field on any given Saturday, they are banking on a lot of those types as the demographic who'd buy a $400,000 condo on Dickson Street. Hopefully they are right.

John Nock came by and visited with me and toured some of my projects a couple weeks ago and he assured me the Ren would be built and that the delay, while a pain now for everyone, will be a distant memory some day when this tower is up and operational. I tend to believe him that it will happen still....

M

Another student housing project is being proposed next to this one. Summit, a 16 acre, 294 unit development atop the hill between Hill Place and Razorback Road is in the early stages of the city planning process. It is being developed by the owner of the Hill Place site, although Hill Place is being developed by Place Properties. According to this article the two will have over 1,000 bedrooms in over 500 housing units- quite a large impact for south Fayetteville.

Increased off campus student housing is needed if the university's plan to add thousands of more students is to be realized. This area is just south of campus and so is a logical area to add student housing. If it is added according to city ordinances and hopefully some type of conditional use requirement concerning the long term management of the complexes it should be a positive addition to the city.

NWA Times article

John Nock came by and visited with me and toured some of my projects a couple weeks ago and he assured me the Ren would be built and that the delay, while a pain now for everyone, will be a distant memory some day when this tower is up and operational. I tend to believe him that it will happen still....

M