Downtown LR outside the River Market area

[skirby]

Vertical Lofts across from the Train Station.

Building to the south contains apartments.

View to the southwest.

Train Station across the street to the west. One of the local TV stations reported this week that passengers are being turned away by Amtrak in LR because of not enough room.

[skirby]

Construction on the new HQ for Baldwin & Shell on Capitol Ave. The building in the background is the old Dillard's HQ. It is undergoing a rehab at this time.

[skirby]

A picture of the eStem Public Charter School between 2nd & 3rd on Louisiana. Louisiana St. is now two-way between Markham and 4th. In the picture you can see some of the students in line to go back in the building. I was a great day today and when I first went by I had my window down. It was sort of strange to hear kids at play in downtown LR. The school has about 800 students enrolled.

[skirby]

The Vertical Lofts has started construction on another set of buildings. These are east of the previous set.

They were working on the driveway today.

[akahogfan]

One of the local TV stations reported this week that passengers are being turned away by Amtrak in LR because of not enough room.

Not sure what you mean. Is it that the station is getting a lot of travelers here going elsewhere or people are stopping off here? Or is this just people that are en route somewhere else?

I know that its not likely to ever happen, but it would be nice to see a line going to Fayetteville.

Anyway, glad to see these lofts doing well. I must admit that when I drove by about a month ago I never thought that they would get off the ground. Whats the ETA for the rest of the Phases?

[cozmosis]

Not sure what you mean. Is it that the station is getting a lot of travelers here going elsewhere or people are stopping off here? Or is this just people that are en route somewhere else?

I'm not sure why they would be at capacity... the Texas Eagle was on time only 1.6% of the time in August and 12.7% in the last 12 months. Sharing rail with freight trains makes Amtrak travel hit and miss at best.

[Sammy00]

I'm not sure why they would be at capacity... the Texas Eagle was on time only 1.6% of the time in August and 12.7% in the last 12 months. Sharing rail with freight trains makes Amtrak travel hit and miss at best.

I don't know about Little Rock but I did read a report the other day claiming that Amtrak is expecting over 27 million passengers this year, up from last year's record of 25.8 million.

Does seem to be a nice alternative if you have the extra time. Fairly inexpensive, and probably fun.

[cozmosis]

Does seem to be a nice alternative if you have the extra time. Fairly inexpensive, and probably fun.

Oh, I'd love to take the train for a real trip (I don't count short trips in the Northeast). In fact, the City of New Orleans often has specials for $50 one way between Memphis & New Orleans. It would be a great way to see the Delta. However, the timeliness issue is important.

I enjoy lazy travel from time to time... but I want it to be my decision to take things slow -- not someone else's. Some family of a friend recently took the Texas Eagle down to Dallas. It was supposed to arrive in Malvern around 3 am. It finally showed up at 11 am. I can't even imagine.

[abdintp]

Oh, I'd love to take the train for a real trip (I don't count short trips in the Northeast). In fact, the City of New Orleans often has specials for $50 one way between Memphis & New Orleans. It would be a great way to see the Delta. However, the timeliness issue is important.

I enjoy lazy travel from time to time... but I want it to be my decision to take things slow -- not someone else's. Some family of a friend recently took the Texas Eagle down to Dallas. It was supposed to arrive in Malvern around 3 am. It finally showed up at 11 am. I can't even imagine.

Wouldn't the decision to take things slow be yours just by making the decision to take Amtrak? And it's really not all that bad that it goes slowly; I take the train from home in LR to school in Chicago every time that I'm making the trip (and the other way around). The train is always late, but it's relatively dependable in its lateness, and rather than going to the station and waiting for the train, you're supposed to call Julie (Amtrak's automated phone service woman thing).

Don't get me wrong, though, I would love higher-speed service and dedicated ROW for Amtrak trains (almost nothing could make me happier). Nothing was more depressing than coming home to Amtrak from a semester in Paris where I took the TGV several times, and coming home to the CTA and (even sadder) the CAT bus, after RATP and the M

[lastmall]

Wouldn't the decision to take things slow be yours just by making the decision to take Amtrak? And it's really not all that bad that it goes slowly; I take the train from home in LR to school in Chicago every time that I'm making the trip (and the other way around). The train is always late, but it's relatively dependable in its lateness, and rather than going to the station and waiting for the train, you're supposed to call Julie (Amtrak's automated phone service woman thing).

Don't get me wrong, though, I would love higher-speed service and dedicated ROW for Amtrak trains (almost nothing could make me happier). Nothing was more depressing than coming home to Amtrak from a semester in Paris where I took the TGV several times, and coming home to the CTA and (even sadder) the CAT bus, after RATP and the M

[Architect]

I didn't want to start a new thread so am tacking this to the end here. It is some information that I am sure most have suspected for some time.

http://www.todaysthv.com/news/local/story....921&catid=2

Trouble in the mortgage and credit markets is affecting all parts of the economy, including the market

[arkansas_buff]

Wouldn't a 27% pre-sale number be good for a condo development at this stage of the game... Since folks can't even move in until May (8 months away)? I'm not an expert, but this seemed like good news to me... especially in light of the housing situation nationwide.

[EJC]

Wouldn't a 27% pre-sale number be good for a condo development at this stage of the game... Since folks can't even move in until May (8 months away)? I'm not an expert, but this seemed like good news to me... especially in light of the housing situation nationwide.

In today's very current environment, perhaps, but pre-sales in better times are frequently much higher in larger cities. Saturation, as Architect said, could be part of the issue.

[Architect]

In today's very current environment, perhaps, but pre-sales in better times are frequently much higher in larger cities. Saturation, as Architect said, could be part of the issue.

Agreed. I wouldn't say its horrible, but its probably in a situation where its a "buyers" market on these units. Again, I'm of the opinion that it is (currently) primarily due to market saturation more so than a broader economic issue.

[Aporkalypse]

Agreed. I wouldn't say its horrible, but its probably in a situation where its a "buyers" market on these units. Again, I'm of the opinion that it is (currently) primarily due to market saturation more so than a broader economic issue.

No doubt, we all saw this coming.

New Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac regs force you to come up with a 25% down payment for any condo. That will slow condo sales some, though, and this may magnify the oversupply problem.

The Lafayette project badly needs to go apartment and work out some sort of parking deal.

[Architect]

The Lafayette project badly needs to go apartment and work out some sort of parking deal.

It's also my opinion that they didn't make the units "hip" enough - they are fairly traditional.

[theman]

It's also my opinion that they didn't make the units "hip" enough - they are fairly traditional.

It's not in a hip area either. If Main St. was undergoing the development that the River Market has been going through, it would help sales. Imagine if Stephens was developing the Center Theater and the Rep was bulding a new facility, that would help Lafayette out.

[skirby]

This is the old Federal Reserve Building being converted to the high school for the E-Stem Charter School. It is across 3rd from the school which is located in the old Arkansas Gazette Building.

[Architect]

This is the old Federal Reserve Building being converted to the high school for the E-Stem Charter School. It is across 3rd from the school which is located in the old Arkansas Gazette Building.

Beautiful building....

[skirby]

The Vertical Lofts.

Former Dillard's HQ being redeveloped for the state. Addition space is being added at the rear of the building.

[bchris02]

The former owner of Easy Street Piano Bar is opening up a new piano bar/restaurant in the former location of The Factory. Unlike Easy Street this one will not be marketted as a gay bar though it will still be gay friendly. The bar/restaurant will have a 1930s speakeasy theme and from what I have seen of the construction looks to be a very nice and welcome addition to downtown LR. It is supposed to open in August.

[Arkansasfiddler]

This is the old Federal Reserve Building being converted to the high school for the E-Stem Charter School. It is across 3rd from the school which is located in the old Arkansas Gazette Building.

I've seen the plans and a rendering of the interior. It looks like it will be pretty cool. The adjacent building is attatched and will also be part of the school. Theres a large 2 story lobby that has a lot of decorative work that has been covered up over the years and is going to be re-exposed. I saw they're doing some demo work already. It'll be exciting to have a solid school base in downtown.

[skirby]

The old but not as old as the one above federal reserve building is getting a new entry way. Another empty building is now being occupied.

[LIT uPP]

Word on the street is that Stephen L. LaFrance Pharmacy Inc., owner of USA Drug, is wanting to buy the Victory Building, a couple of blocks east of the State Capitol from the Arkansas Teachers Retirement System for less than half of the cost to build it. This is the 10-year-old building where KARK Channel 4 is located

[LRguy21]

Any downtown news?