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The Promenade At Chenal


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There are plenty of tenant opportunities for a development of this size. Frankly, this development isn't that large compared to many other proposals. I don't think anyone minds others with opinions, but your opinions bordered on statement of fact rather than opinion. Could this development fail? Sure, as could any of these projects, but the opportunity is ripe as well. As for the wooded area, all I can say is that this was in the plans for a long time, so something was going to happen there, and fortunately, Deltic has at least made SOME effort to keep wooded areas. As noted before, when RED is done, there will be plantings (as there always are in developments of this nature).

A lot of high end tenants have been holding off on the market looking for the right place to locate, no doubt. This is especially true of restaurants where several high-end chains are looking to get into the market and keep backing off from developments. I expect a Ruth's Chris and Cantina Laredo very soon and I bet Promenade's the spot. If LR is every to get a Cheesecake Factory, this might be it (or it may go to whatever replaces University Mall). If lots of traditional mall tenants - the Abercrombies, Gaps, and Crabtree and Evelyns of the world choose this as their west LR location then it would fill very fast, if a few come many will follow. If not and it is filled mostly with local tenants it will be very slow to fill.

What do you guys make of the triangular piece of land between La Prada and Rahling that was left out of the Promenade? Did RED purchase that piece of land from Deltic as well or does Deltic still own it? If RED bought it it could be perfect to add another 100-150k SF if the project does well or conceivably add a dept store (Macy's or Dillard's) to the mix. Was that land cleared as well?

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  • 4 weeks later...

I heard from a friend last night, from their friend (yes, literally...so take this with a grain of salt), that the new Promenade at Chenal will contain a Coach store. Supposedly this person had seen a recent site layout with tenant names....didn't hear what else. I was sort of listening in...for what its worth.

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I heard from a friend last night, from their friend (yes, literally...so take this with a grain of salt), that the new Promenade at Chenal will contain a Coach store. Supposedly this person had seen a recent site layout with tenant names....didn't hear what else. I was sort of listening in...for what its worth.

Come on Architect, I expected more.

I'm still hoping that we see a lot of those stores like Apple originally listed on Pleasant Ridge's site plan out there. Coach is a good start.

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Come on Architect, I expected more.

I'm still hoping that we see a lot of those stores like Apple originally listed on Pleasant Ridge's site plan out there. Coach is a good start.

How long does it take to drive from the Markham and Main St to Chenal and Rahling (I think that is the location for this development)? Think visitor to LR for a convention. Yahoo maps says 20 minutes. Seems like the bar for this development needs to be very high. It needs something spectacular, like maybe the IMAX that shows full length movies. Otherwise, it is going to go the route of Rodney Parham.

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How long does it take to drive from the Markham and Main St to Chenal and Rahling (I think that is the location for this development)? Think visitor to LR for a convention. Yahoo maps says 20 minutes. Seems like the bar for this development needs to be very high. It needs something spectacular, like maybe the IMAX that shows full length movies. Otherwise, it is going to go the route of Rodney Parham.

No movie type pad from my understanding.

Perhaps you are correct in your assumption, but my impression isn't that places such as this need visitor convention business but rather they need local support. This location is roughly 5 minutes from 630/430 versus 45 seconds for Midtown from 630. I'm not sure if that will matter or not. Lifestyle centers are destinations on their own, so the fact that it isn't surrounded by other development isn't a major factor IMO.

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No movie type pad from my understanding.

Perhaps you are correct in your assumption, but my impression isn't that places such as this need visitor convention business but rather they need local support. This location is roughly 5 minutes from 630/430 versus 45 seconds for Midtown from 630. I'm not sure if that will matter or not. Lifestyle centers are destinations on their own, so the fact that it isn't surrounded by other development isn't a major factor IMO.

You might be right. Who am I to question the willingness of a developer to invest in a particular locale?

Personally, I like the geographic proximity of Park Plaza, Midtowne, and the University Mall (eventually) sites with Hillcrest and the Heights. One can drive that entire triangle in less that 10 minutes; and any given leg is less than 5 minutes. So, if I were giving directions to someone who is unfamiliar with Little Rock, and they want to shop, I'd send them to this area. The alternative, to send them to WLR, would add another 10-15 minutes to the drive. Then, if they want to go else where, they'll need to drive to another part of WLR, say Cantrell or Rodney Parham. That could be another 10-15 minutes. That time begins to add up when you consider a round trip.

Also, to your point about the need for local support. My wife and I are local. We get turned-off by the prospect of negotiating WLR to do much of anything these days. I've cut way back on my trips to Sams, which is mostly reduced to buy bulk coffee beans, Silk, Frosted Mini wheats, paper towels, toilet paper and trash bags. I used to go weekly because of the need for diapers and wipes. It may be time to let my membership expire.

Maybe the issue that I have is that there doesn't seem to be an anchoring site (or intersection) developing except for the Markham, Bowman, Chenal confluence. I think this development should rival the Heights is size, scope and tenant mix to gain substantive support outside of WLR. I'm thinking Kavanaugh from University to Cantrell. That, to me, would be a Lifestyle center that is a destination unto itself. Anything much less, could probably be classified as a reformulated strip mall, or strip mall on steroids.

Perhaps I am too harsh or biased or both. It is Friday, but my brain thinks it is Monday.

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No movie type pad from my understanding.

Perhaps you are correct in your assumption, but my impression isn't that places such as this need visitor convention business but rather they need local support. This location is roughly 5 minutes from 630/430 versus 45 seconds for Midtown from 630. I'm not sure if that will matter or not. Lifestyle centers are destinations on their own, so the fact that it isn't surrounded by other development isn't a major factor IMO.

I'm used to DFW and you see similar-sized centers, some even quite a bit larger, peppered around, some on major highways but some off the beaten path in newer, affluent areas. I think of this as the type of development that instead of being designed to become a regional mall like Park Plaza is designed to become a local shopping center in an affluent area of town, similar to (but smaller than) Southlake Town Square in far suburban DFW. That shopping center (billed initially as a lifestyle center but really as large as I've seen one) has things like a Cheesecake Factory, Pottery Barn, Williams-Sonoma, etc, etc. It's not something anyone would drive from Dallas or Ft Worth to go to, more of something that serves the area.

You figure West LR and West Pulaski probably have a population of 100,000 people or so that would use the shopping center, most with rather high incomes. That's what this shopping center is targeting, not the entire region as Shackleford Crossing and potentially Gateway or the new shopping center at Col Glenn would.

Now that may very well make it a "strip mall on steroids".

There's no movie theatre pad as has been stated. With the Rave and Breckenridge so close I'm not sure there will be a theatre that far West anytime soon. However, we do know that there is a theatre with an IMAX planned for somewhere in Little Rock. I was assuming that was nearer Midtown, which needs a theater more.

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You might be right. Who am I to question the willingness of a developer to invest in a particular locale?

Personally, I like the geographic proximity of Park Plaza, Midtowne, and the University Mall (eventually) sites with Hillcrest and the Heights. One can drive that entire triangle in less that 10 minutes; and any given leg is less than 5 minutes. So, if I were giving directions to someone who is unfamiliar with Little Rock, and they want to shop, I'd send them to this area. The alternative, to send them to WLR, would add another 10-15 minutes to the drive. Then, if they want to go else where, they'll need to drive to another part of WLR, say Cantrell or Rodney Parham. That could be another 10-15 minutes. That time begins to add up when you consider a round trip.

Also, to your point about the need for local support. My wife and I are local. We get turned-off by the prospect of negotiating WLR to do much of anything these days. I've cut way back on my trips to Sams, which is mostly reduced to buy bulk coffee beans, Silk, Frosted Mini wheats, paper towels, toilet paper and trash bags. I used to go weekly because of the need for diapers and wipes. It may be time to let my membership expire.

Maybe the issue that I have is that there doesn't seem to be an anchoring site (or intersection) developing except for the Markham, Bowman, Chenal confluence. I think this development should rival the Heights is size, scope and tenant mix to gain substantive support outside of WLR. I'm thinking Kavanaugh from University to Cantrell. That, to me, would be a Lifestyle center that is a destination unto itself. Anything much less, could probably be classified as a reformulated strip mall, or strip mall on steroids.

Perhaps I am too harsh or biased or both. It is Friday, but my brain thinks it is Monday.

You could be right on all counts. I somehow think differently, but I don't know anything either. What I think I'm seeing is something that is far nicer than anything (sans Midtowne which is just small) and consequently I see it getting play because it's the finest thing in town. I can see why you don't want to travel much to Sam's....it is, afterall, SAMS. But those of us in WLR don't mind travelling to Midtowne on occasion (and I personally have absolutely no desire to set foot in Park Plaza ever again...yet I can enjoy the Midtowne experience. So the draw of other nearby retailers isn't always there either) so I guess I don't see an impediment unless the folks living in midtown have a problem coming to WLR. That may be a problem...guess we'll see.

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You could be right on all counts. I somehow think differently, but I don't know anything either. What I think I'm seeing is something that is far nicer than anything (sans Midtowne which is just small) and consequently I see it getting play because it's the finest thing in town. I can see why you don't want to travel much to Sam's....it is, afterall, SAMS. But those of us in WLR don't mind travelling to Midtowne on occasion (and I personally have absolutely no desire to set foot in Park Plaza ever again...yet I can enjoy the Midtowne experience. So the draw of other nearby retailers isn't always there either) so I guess I don't see an impediment unless the folks living in midtown have a problem coming to WLR. That may be a problem...guess we'll see.

Little Rock's so small I think those distances are seldom an issue unless you're talking about driving from Hwy 10 and Chenal to downtown, which lacks a direct interstate for the trip.

I think the real suspect issue about the location is that it will be tough for people from the rural exurban parts of the MSA to find, but then again this isn't the type of development that caters to them. I think it's designed to form a "town center" for the Chenal area and to offer some restaurants and stores new to the area to pull in high-end shoppers. The demographic that the mall will be targeting will know exactly how to get to Chenal, even if they live in Cabot, Bryant, White Hall, Conway, or even Hot Springs.

Another thought about this - there's an area on the far side of the development that was initially slated to be part of it that is uncleared. This part was left out when the shopping center was redesigned when Dillard's backed out. Is Dillard's waiting to see how the shopping center does and later plans to hop on board? Is this chunk of land still owned by Deltic or is RED going to sit on it and expand in the future?

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In quasi-related news, RED Development is working with the LR Zoo on a new reptile exhibit. Here's a cut-n-paste from TodayTHV website:

Reptiles To Get New Zoo Exhibit

The Little Rock Zoo announced plans Saturday for a new reptile exhibit. Kansas City-based RED Development will help the zoo create Backyard Reptiles.

"This will house animals, reptiles and it will be used as an educational tool to explain to people about what they have in their backyard," said Zoo Director Mike Blakely. "How to be careful around them and some of them, but also teach them respect for these animals."

It will be RED Development's second Arkansas project. The firm is constructing the Promenade on Chenal in Little Rock's Chenal Valley.

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In quasi-related news, RED Development is working with the LR Zoo on a new reptile exhibit. Here's a cut-n-paste from TodayTHV website:

Reptiles To Get New Zoo Exhibit

The Little Rock Zoo announced plans Saturday for a new reptile exhibit. Kansas City-based RED Development will help the zoo create Backyard Reptiles.

"This will house animals, reptiles and it will be used as an educational tool to explain to people about what they have in their backyard," said Zoo Director Mike Blakely. "How to be careful around them and some of them, but also teach them respect for these animals."

It will be RED Development's second Arkansas project. The firm is constructing the Promenade on Chenal in Little Rock's Chenal Valley.

That's a pretty strange project for RED to be involved with, I thought they only did shopping centers.

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It sounds like RED is footing part or all of the bill to build this zoo exhibit, which started off with a $5000 contribution and escalated from there. Maybe they aren't the villains somebody in this thread portrayed them to be.

Mike Blakely came from the Kansas City Zoo. There could very well be a past connection there.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The other monster project out that way is the new Fellowship campus up on the hill across from Kroger. That thing is going to be a monstrosity.

Has anybody seen a drawing of the Bank of the Ozarks HQs?

Fellowship is a large project and is certainly in that neighbhorhood, but its not visible at all from Chenal Parkway.

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Very nice...what we'd hope to see. Of course, I saw the same thing on the Pleasant Ridge site plan, but it may just be that those groups bailed for The Promenade at Chenal. Two thumbs up for Apple, and one thumbs up for J Crew...otherwise, the others are already present in the market, but nice none-the-less.

We thought it was pretty clear based on the timing a lot of A-list tenants bolted Pleasant Ridge for Chenal and this kind of confirms that. Let's hope someone else isn't trying to steal them right now, perhaps the Col Glenn group.

So far that's only 4/10 outbuildings so hopefully there will be more restaurants. With a quality list of tenants like that you'd hope some other upscale shops/restaurants will be in the mix. I'm hoping we'll see a Cheesecake Factory and Ruth's Chris and this mix of tenants is right for that.

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We thought it was pretty clear based on the timing a lot of A-list tenants bolted Pleasant Ridge for Chenal and this kind of confirms that. Let's hope someone else isn't trying to steal them right now, perhaps the Col Glenn group.

So far that's only 4/10 outbuildings so hopefully there will be more restaurants. With a quality list of tenants like that you'd hope some other upscale shops/restaurants will be in the mix. I'm hoping we'll see a Cheesecake Factory and Ruth's Chris and this mix of tenants is right for that.

Those would be nice restaurants, but I just don't see them locating in this small of a development that far from any sort of significant traffic or arterial/interstate. There's just not a lot of critical mass out there right now, and for the foreseeable future (10-15 years). I hope I'm wrong!

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Those would be nice restaurants, but I just don't see them locating in this small of a development that far from any sort of significant traffic or arterial/interstate. There's just not a lot of critical mass out there right now, and for the foreseeable future (10-15 years). I hope I'm wrong!

I know what you're saying but I would argue that this either applies to the whole development or it doesn't. If all of these other tenants are really willing to hop on this, I don't think location will be an issue for other A-list tenants. I sure wouldn't have thought that area was ready for that kind of development right now either.

That said, there's probably something to showing prospective clients the predominance of $400,000-$2 million homes in the area. Drive around the area and you would think there's massive disposable income but the problem is it's still a limited group of just a few thousand out there.

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