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Midtowne Little Rock


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What about an Apple Store? Surely LR is in their sights now that they've moved into similar markets, such as Des Moines (which is in fact slightly smaller). This type of urban development is fairly typical of their locations. Any word on this?

Bizarrely, Des Moines also has a Cheesecake Factory. I'd love to see one in Little Rock. Any redevelopment of University Mall might provide an ideal site.

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Bizarrely, Des Moines also has a Cheesecake Factory. I'd love to see one in Little Rock. Any redevelopment of University Mall might provide an ideal site.

I would think the Rivermarket area would be an ideal site for a Cheesecake Factory.

I would love to get a late dinner there and walk to the bars. That would be a great night.

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I would think the Rivermarket area would be an ideal site for a Cheesecake Factory.

I would love to get a late dinner there and walk to the bars. That would be a great night.

It could be but they usually like to build into some sort of large retail complex. To be honest, if I had to pick a site right now I think the development in Dark Hollow where Bass Pro should be going in would be the best bet. I kind of think a large, modern upscale mixed usedevelopment where University Mall stands now would do well, though.

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It could be but they usually like to build into some sort of large retail complex. To be honest, if I had to pick a site right now I think the development in Dark Hollow where Bass Pro should be going in would be the best bet. I kind of think a large, modern upscale mixed usedevelopment where University Mall stands now would do well, though.

Now that I think about it you are exactly right. I hadn't noticed that about Cheesecake Factories, but I can't ever remember eating in one that wasn't in some type of mall.

And you are right, Dark Hollow would be a great place for it.

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Iowa's pretty impressive for its size. They're the headquarters of the ACT assessment and various other educational assocations. They have some of the best colleges. All this in a state the size of Arkansas.

My mother-in-law is from Iowa, and I've always been very impressed with how beautiful it is. If I'm not mistaken, Iowa has the highest literacy rate in the country. Des Moines is very urban and sophisticated for its size. The skyline has to be on of the most impressive per capita. Though the metropolitan area is shy 100,000 from Little Rock, its downtown houses 50% more people (60,000 versus 40,000 in LR) during the work day. As such, it still has an active working shopping area with dept. stores, etc. Its just a real, working downtown that doesn't appear to ever have really gone awry. As such, there isn't really any "kitschy" new development/districts like the River Market. It just works all around. Very nice indeed.

But back to the point....all of the great new retail in Des Moines is strictly due to one massive development in West Des Moines. Unlike Little Rock, ONE MAJOR new development took place, which gravitated all new retailers to a common point. This is REALLY hurting LR - the many fractured, competing centers - though it does now appear that Midtowne is clearly getting the high-end, which is GREAT for solidifying mid-town.

Edited by Architect
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You can't really use Apple for CAD, can you?

Au contraire my friend. The Mac is a great CAD system. One must not assume that the most 'popular' cad system "AutoCAD" is the only system, and certainly not the best.

We have 18 stations of PowerCADD, which is arguably the best 2D drafting software on the planet. Both ArchiCAD and VectorWorks are still very much active on the Mac platform, and in fact both started on the Mac. We also use ArchiCAD for some specific applications, though it is an entirely different animal - most similar (but preceding) AutoCAD's Revit.

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My mother-in-law is from Iowa, and I've always been very impressed with how beautiful it is. If I'm not mistaken, Iowa has the highest literacy rate in the country. Des Moines is very urban and sophisticated for its size. The skyline has to be on of the most impressive per capita. Though the metropolitan area is shy 100,000 from Little Rock, its downtown houses 50% more people (60,000 versus 40,000 in LR) during the work day. As such, it still has an active working shopping area with dept. stores, etc. Its just a real, working downtown that doesn't appear to ever have really gone awry. As such, there isn't really any "kitschy" new development/districts like the River Market. It just works all around. Very nice indeed.

But back to the point....all of the great new retail in Des Moines is strictly due to one massive development in West Des Moines. Unlike Little Rock, ONE MAJOR new development took place, which gravitated all new retailers to a common point. This is REALLY hurting LR - the many fractured, competing centers - though it does now appear that Midtowne is clearly getting the high-end, which is GREAT for solidifying mid-town.

Yeah I've heard things about Des Moines. I've wondered if it's also a bigger draw around the whole state compared to Little Rock. Not trying to say anything bad about Iowa but is there many other places around the state in general to draw people?

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But back to the point....all of the great new retail in Des Moines is strictly due to one massive development in West Des Moines. Unlike Little Rock, ONE MAJOR new development took place, which gravitated all new retailers to a common point. This is REALLY hurting LR - the many fractured, competing centers - though it does now appear that Midtowne is clearly getting the high-end, which is GREAT for solidifying mid-town.

Yes, the Jordan Creek Town Center is an amazing lifestyle/mall development that encompasses almost 2 Million Square Feet of Retail. It has everything from Cheescake Factory to Best Buy.

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Article in today's (Saturday, February 18, 2006) Arkansas Democrat Gazette:

Williams-Sonoma , Pottery Barn stores to open in LR in fall

BY EDWARD KLUMP ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Pottery Barn and Williams-Sonoma, retailers long coveted by some central Arkansas shoppers, will debut in midtown Little Rock later this year, a company spokesman confirmed Friday.

The spokesman said the two stores are to open in October or November but declined to provide further details. Both stores are part of San Francisco-based Williams-Sonoma Inc.

Pottery Barn sells home furnishings, while Williams-Sonoma focuses on kitchenware. Neither retailer

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Yes, the Jordan Creek Town Center is an amazing lifestyle/mall development that encompasses almost 2 Million Square Feet of Retail. It has everything from Cheescake Factory to Best Buy.

There you go.

The same thing in West LR might pull a Cheesecake Factory. I'm not sure they'll opt for one of the smaller "lifestyle centers", though. In Texas they really seem to go for the massive retail centers.

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Was it a one store operation? And how about Ozark Outfitters?

At the time that it closed it was operating one store. It operated two store on two separate occasions during its +/-25 years of existence. First, there was Beechwood (original location) and WLR (Rodney Parham to Bowman Curve). Then around 1998, Frank open a store in the Rivermarket and maintained the Bowman store. The Rivermarket was not condusive to outdoor retail at that time... It still is not today.

Ozark Outdoor Supply is still under Jim's ownership and located in the same place next to US Pizza in the Heights. I was in there a couple of times during the holiday and he seemed to have all the business he could handle. That reminds me that I need to visit Ozark very soon.

Having witnessed outdoor retailing firsthand, it is tough in the South due to the mild winters. Other than locals taking ski vacations, a lot of the Winter time is spent praying to the weather Gods to smile on you.

One could argue that it make sense for an outdoor retailer to close between October 1 to November 15.

Lewis and Clark Outfitters has talked about opening a LR location since they built the Fayetteville store. If they locate in Midtowne, they should be able to make a pretty good go at it.

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At the time that it closed it was operating one store. It operated two store on two separate occasions during its +/-25 years of existence. First, there was Beechwood (original location) and WLR (Rodney Parham to Bowman Curve). Then around 1998, Frank open a store in the Rivermarket and maintained the Bowman store. The Rivermarket was not condusive to outdoor retail at that time... It still is not today.

Ozark Outdoor Supply is still under Jim's ownership and located in the same place next to US Pizza in the Heights. I was in there a couple of times during the holiday and he seemed to have all the business he could handle. That reminds me that I need to visit Ozark very soon.

Having witnessed outdoor retailing firsthand, it is tough in the South due to the mild winters. Other than locals taking ski vacations, a lot of the Winter time is spent praying to the weather Gods to smile on you.

One could argue that it make sense for an outdoor retailer to close between October 1 to November 15.

Lewis and Clark Outfitters has talked about opening a LR location since they built the Fayetteville store. If they locate in Midtowne, they should be able to make a pretty good go at it.

Thanks for the info turboturtle.

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In todays Arkansas Democrat Gazette it was confirmed that Wild Oats will be moving into Midtowne by early 2007.

Thanks for the update skirby. I guess we don't get all the Little Rock news in our edition of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette up here in NWA.

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