North Little Rock Development

[Aporkalypse]

I'm glad to see the eyesore of a feedmill on its way out. That thing is hideous.

[bchris02]

I'm glad to see the eyesore of a feedmill on its way out. That thing is hideous.

It will not be missed.

[LRguy21]

Whats happening with the NLR Whendem hotel tower? is that still going to be build?

[Architect]

Whats happening with the NLR Whendem hotel tower? is that still going to be build?

Who knows. This is the second go-round for an announced tower at Wyndham for Frank Fletcher.

[arkansas_buff]

This rendering can be found on the Travelerocity blogsite. It was from January '07.

Sure would be nice.

[Aporkalypse]

The plan for a riverfront hotel near where the current Greyhound station is located was apparently on NLR's city board agenda and they are working on this, but there aren't any more details. A lot of people think Stephens is behind this. It's already been mentioned here, but this is the first press mention I remember seeing.

[Architect]

The plan for a riverfront hotel near where the current Greyhound station is located was apparently on NLR's city board agenda and they are working on this, but there aren't any more details. A lot of people think Stephens is behind this. It's already been mentioned here, but this is the first press mention I remember seeing.

Sounds good. It would be VERY convenient for Alltel events - especially NCAA Tournament events. I find it strange however that Stephens would be behind this. What about his property adjacent to the Capitol?

[CentralArkansas]

Sounds good. It would be VERY convenient for Alltel events - especially NCAA Tournament events. I find it strange however that Stephens would be behind this. What about his property adjacent to the Capitol?

I would bet he has VERY big plans for this property IF he ever does anything with it in his lifetime. I saw an interview with him and he basically said that while he loves to be involved with development, it has to be VERY pragmatic for him to get involved. He probably sees the lack of full-service hotels, especially with the ball park he just built and everything else going on in NLR, and wants to get involved.

My guess would be for the property adjacent the Cap Hotel, that it will have to be a crown jewel. I don't think he'll put anything next to his prize jewel hotel that will draw away from it in a negative light.

[hartford]

I think they should have built a hotel and restaurants where that new apartment building is located next to Alltel Arena. That building got a lot of things wrong including, A) it is ugly and used cheap materials B) it blocks the view of downtown LR from the entrance of the arena C) who wants to live in an apartment that backs up to one of the busiest highways in the state, I-40. That area would have been better served as a hotel site with multiple restaurants. NLR should have held out and waited for a better development.

[Architect]

I think they should have built a hotel and restaurants where that new apartment building is located next to Alltel Arena. That building got a lot of things wrong including, A) it is ugly and used cheap materials B) it blocks the view of downtown LR from the entrance of the arena C) who wants to live in an apartment that backs up to one of the busiest highways in the state, I-40. That area would have been better served as a hotel site with multiple restaurants. NLR should have held out and waited for a better development.

They should at least have held them to higher standards on the design and placement. As you pointed out in item B, what a shame that the city didn't force them to respond to the original arena entry view angles to the downtown skyline, which drove the whole arena design. Its now completely pointless. I think that while the design could have certainly been improved, I think it works okay - its better than many other things that have been built recently.

[Aporkalypse]

I think they should have built a hotel and restaurants where that new apartment building is located next to Alltel Arena. That building got a lot of things wrong including, A) it is ugly and used cheap materials B) it blocks the view of downtown LR from the entrance of the arena C) who wants to live in an apartment that backs up to one of the busiest highways in the state, I-40. That area would have been better served as a hotel site with multiple restaurants. NLR should have held out and waited for a better development.

I totally agree. That development could've gone elsewhere in downtown NLR.

Sacrificing the arena view for that still boggles my mind.

[theman]

I totally agree. That development could've gone elsewhere in downtown NLR.

Sacrificing the arena view for that still boggles my mind.

It shows how desperate NLR was for residential development in its downtown. NLR saw all of the condo development going on across the river and wanted some of the action, so they allowed an apartment building to be placed across the street from Alltel Arena, blocking the view of the skyline. NLR officials always say the one of the best things about downtown NLR is the skyline view of LR. They talk about it a lot with Dickey Stephens Park, but I guess they didn't care about it from Alltel Arena.

Architect, you talked about the angle for the entrance of Alltel Arena. If you remember when they were designing the arena, NLR thought that the entrance should face NLR instead of LR. That's probably why they didn't care about the apartments blocking the view.

[Architect]

Architect, you talked about the angle for the entrance of Alltel Arena. If you remember when they were designing the arena, NLR thought that the entrance should face NLR instead of LR. That's probably why they didn't care about the apartments blocking the view.

I don't recall that discussion from NLR officials (surely they were kidding!) - only the entry view orientation to the skyline. That's why the building sits diagonal on the block (NE-SW).

[bchris02]

It shows how desperate NLR was for residential development in its downtown. NLR saw all of the condo development going on across the river and wanted some of the action, so they allowed an apartment building to be placed across the street from Alltel Arena, blocking the view of the skyline. NLR officials always say the one of the best things about downtown NLR is the skyline view of LR. They talk about it a lot with Dickey Stephens Park, but I guess they didn't care about it from Alltel Arena.

Architect, you talked about the angle for the entrance of Alltel Arena. If you remember when they were designing the arena, NLR thought that the entrance should face NLR instead of LR. That's probably why they didn't care about the apartments blocking the view.

I like the apartments, but I agree that location would be much better served as hotel/restaurant space. I think the best angle to view the Little Rock skyline is from NLR, and I wish they wouldn't have blocked the view from Alltel. Very poor planning. But lets count our blessings - Alltel Arena could be out in I-430 and Colonel Glenn with no skyline view at all.

[Aporkalypse]

I like the apartments, but I agree that location would be much better served as hotel/restaurant space. I think the best angle to view the Little Rock skyline is from NLR, and I wish they wouldn't have blocked the view from Alltel. Very poor planning. But lets count our blessings - Alltel Arena could be out in I-430 and Colonel Glenn with no skyline view at all.

It very nearly was at 430 and Crystal Hill where Arkansas Surgical Hospital now sits.

[hartford]

First of all, let me state that I grew up in NLR and now live in LR so I am fond of both cites. But I think there is a problem with NLR wanting to have its own identity. During the NCAA Tournament they wanted to make a big deal out of CBS and any other media saying the games were in Little Rock. LR is the metro and nobody outside of Arkansas knows they are separate cities. People associate the area as the LR metro. Most people in other large metros say they are from the defining city not the small suburb where they may actually reside. For example, I know many people who say they are from Dallas when they may live in McKinney or Allen because most people outside of that area have no idea where Allen is but they have a reference for Dallas. I thought it was very petty for NLR to beg to be recognized just because Alltel's physical address is in NLR. The arena serves the LR metro area and central Arkansas.

[bchris02]

First of all, let me state that I grew up in NLR and now live in LR so I am fond of both cites. But I think there is a problem with NLR wanting to have its own identity. During the NCAA Tournament they wanted to make a big deal out of CBS and any other media saying the games were in Little Rock. LR is the metro and nobody outside of Arkansas knows they are separate cities. People associate the area as the LR metro. Most people in other large metros say they are from the defining city not the small suburb where they may actually reside. For example, I know many people who say they are from Dallas when they may live in McKinney or Allen because most people outside of that area have no idea where Allen is but they have a reference for Dallas. I thought it was very petty for NLR to beg to be recognized just because Alltel's physical address is in NLR. The arena serves the LR metro area and central Arkansas.

This is one thing that bugs me about NLR. They might as well be the same city yet NLR tries so hard to get its own identity it sometimes gets absurd. Anybody from outside the area visiting would not know the difference between LR and NLR. If LR and NLR joined together we would have a city of 240,000 which would look a lot more attractive on the national scene than one of 184,000 and another of 60,000. Question - why does NLR want to have its own identity seprate from LR so bad when it disadvantages both cities and for all intents and purposes they are the same city?

[Architect]

This is one thing that bugs me about NLR. They might as well be the same city yet NLR tries so hard to get its own identity it sometimes gets absurd. Anybody from outside the area visiting would not know the difference between LR and NLR. If LR and NLR joined together we would have a city of 240,000 which would look a lot more attractive on the national scene than one of 184,000 and another of 60,000. Question - why does NLR want to have its own identity seprate from LR so bad when it disadvantages both cities and for all intents and purposes they are the same city?

Agreed.

It very nearly was at 430 and Crystal Hill where Arkansas Surgical Hospital now sits.

There was never any serious consideration for a site outside of downtown.

[Aporkalypse]

This is one thing that bugs me about NLR. They might as well be the same city yet NLR tries so hard to get its own identity it sometimes gets absurd. Anybody from outside the area visiting would not know the difference between LR and NLR. If LR and NLR joined together we would have a city of 240,000 which would look a lot more attractive on the national scene than one of 184,000 and another of 60,000. Question - why does NLR want to have its own identity seprate from LR so bad when it disadvantages both cities and for all intents and purposes they are the same city?

I thought the NCAA tourney thing was pretty sad as well. The city of LR provided most of the preparation and bidding for the tournament and the work was done by the host institution, UALR. Only one of the five core hotels was north of the river. The fact the arena is two blocks north of the river doesn't change the fact that UALR and Little Rock were the hosts.

I lived in LR from age 0-3, then NLR from 3 to 14, then Little Rock again afterwards, save four years of college. I lived both places and like both places. It's amazing how competition from NLR forces the city to make silly decisions for bragging rights. The baseball stadium is a prime example, as was the TIF at North Hills. You don't give away tax breaks like that on the best interstate frontage site for development left in the state. Merge both cities and you have a city of a quarter million that can get a lot done, but NLR wouldn't vote for it. Too much pride at stake, I guess.

[Aporkalypse]

Agreed.

There was never any serious consideration for a site outside of downtown.

There were multiple reincarnations of LR arena proposals. As far as I remember, the Diamond Center was to be built at Crystal Hill. Previous attempts focused on locations on the western fringes, this one was unique that it didn't (and I would like to think is why it passed).

[LRU1967]

There were multiple reincarnations of LR arena proposals. As far as I remember, the Diamond Center was to be built at Crystal Hill. Previous attempts focused on locations on the western fringes, this one was unique that it didn't (and I would like to think is why it passed).

Wasn't the Diamond Center planned for the old Coachman's Inn site now the LR Post Office?

[Architect]

There were multiple reincarnations of LR arena proposals. As far as I remember, the Diamond Center was to be built at Crystal Hill. Previous attempts focused on locations on the western fringes, this one was unique that it didn't (and I would like to think is why it passed).

No, the Diamond Center was proposed for downtown Little Rock at the site now used for the new central post office (As LRU1967 mentioned). Sure, people mentioned putting an arena out west at one time, but that was more than 20 years ago and never an official site. And as it relates to the Pulaski County Civic Center (Alltel Arena) - to my knowledge - there was NEVER any discussion about a suburban location, only its current location and the option to locate where Dickey-Stephens now sits.

[LIT uPP]

Wasn't the Diamond Center planned for the old Coachman's Inn site now the LR Post Office?

You are correct. Back in the early 90

[theman]

I thought the NCAA tourney thing was pretty sad as well. The city of LR provided most of the preparation and bidding for the tournament and the work was done by the host institution, UALR. Only one of the five core hotels was north of the river. The fact the arena is two blocks north of the river doesn't change the fact that UALR and Little Rock were the hosts.

And the Wyndham in NLR is called the Wyndham Riverfront Little Rock, so it even associates itself with Little Rock.

I also thought that it was sad that NLR made such a fuss about insisting that Alltel was located in NLR. I heard Ray Tucker on the radio trying to defend NLR, but someone countered that UALR was the host school and many of the people that were doing the leg work to get this thing done were in LR so they were ok with it being said that it was in LR.

[Aporkalypse]

No, the Diamond Center was proposed for downtown Little Rock at the site now used for the new central post office (As LRU1967 mentioned). Sure, people mentioned putting an arena out west at one time, but that was more than 20 years ago and never an official site. And as it relates to the Pulaski County Civic Center (Alltel Arena) - to my knowledge - there was NEVER any discussion about a suburban location, only its current location and the option to locate where Dickey-Stephens now sits.

I know the Crystal Hill site and the current Clinton Library site were both considered at different times. I know this because the man that owned that land, Gene Pfeiffer, said so. However, I remember both being discussed as sites at different times. Specifically, I remember how angry some of my Saline Co relatives were when a downtown site was chosen over a mentioned possibility of the Crystal Hill site. They were livid they would have to find a place to park in downtown LR.