Jump to content

Park Avenue


skirby

Recommended Posts

I am excited about this, as Panera is one of the most obvious chains the LR area was lacking. Is the plan for 4 locations in Little Rock itself, or 4 in the metro area? If its the metro area, I see one in WLR, one at Park Ave, one in Conway and one in Benton/Bryant.

I think it is just LR, maybe NLR. I would think downtown, midtown and WLR and NLR. WLR might get two, one on Hwy 10 and one at either Park Plaza West or Shackleford Crossing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • Replies 506
  • Created
  • Last Reply

I think it is just LR, maybe NLR. I would think downtown, midtown and WLR and NLR. WLR might get two, one on Hwy 10 and one at either Park Plaza West or Shackleford Crossing.

I agree with you on the locations, now can I get Cheesecake Factory, Dave and Buster's, and Coach store. I need a Z Gallerie and Macy's too! :thumbsup:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Are they going use the parking deck currently in place at the old mall?

I wouldn't expect to see anything left of the old structure by the end of February. They are really getting down on that thing. Looks like a bomb went off. Kind of cool. It really shows that the city is in progress. That's a good things.

It is cool! I was wondering about the parking deck too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wasnt one of the comments in the old law suit that was filed against simon stated that parts of the parking deck was falling apart.

Parking deck stays. They're going to 'shield' it from University though.

To consider that one of the futures for that site would have it still sitting there unchanged and under a legal struggle, it is exciting to know something shiny and new will emerge in a relatively short period of time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Park Place and St. Vincent add up to just south of $200 million... If you add UAMS construction, Park Plaza remodel, Midtowne and Hilton redevelopment, that number would be well north of $500 million. That's some substantial investment over a relatively short period of time.

Yes, and this doesn't even include the tremendous investment downtown. Yet all we hear about is all of the construction in NWA.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, and this doesn't even include the tremendous investment downtown. Yet all we hear about is all of the construction in NWA.

Do you think progress without the promotion and fanfare is evidence of an healthy local market? The River Market District has had significant "promotional" coverage by the City and the media in support of its growth. (I realize the University Mall site has received coverage, but it wasn't with the same gusto or quantity as anything in the River Market.) This post isn't to create controversy between Midtown and the River Market either. I am wondering if the amount of redevelopment occurring in Midtown is enough evidence to call it a revival or renaissance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do you think progress without the promotion and fanfare is evidence of an healthy local market? The River Market District has had significant "promotional" coverage by the City and the media in support of its growth. (I realize the University Mall site has received coverage, but it wasn't with the same gusto or quantity as anything in the River Market.) This post isn't to create controversy between Midtown and the River Market either. I am wondering if the amount of redevelopment occurring in Midtown is enough evidence to call it a revival or renaissance.

Interesting point. I would agree there has been little fanfare, yet here we are with a $30M (?) renovation of Park Plaza, a $15M (?) Midtown center, a St. Vincent addition of $40M, and certainly a $100M total redevelopment of University Mall into Park Avenue....I'd say that's more than healthy. Revival, definitely!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting point. I would agree there has been little fanfare, yet here we are with a $30M (?) renovation of Park Plaza, a $15M (?) Midtown center, a St. Vincent addition of $40M, and certainly a $100M total redevelopment of University Mall into Park Avenue....I'd say that's more than healthy. Revival, definitely!

Could we toss in the UALR construction in the mix? It's not in midtown, and there's nothing new in the middle, but I'd like to think that whole University Ave corrider could get the bug to some degree.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Could we toss in the UALR construction in the mix? It's not in midtown, and there's nothing new in the middle, but I'd like to think that whole University Ave corrider could get the bug to some degree.

Taking a longer view of the trend, then yes. The boundary for University District begins just south of I-630 at 12th street. And I do think the redevelopment of the Hilton in 2002(?) is part of the current trend for the area. Also, there will be a new Children's library built on 12th street at the entrance to War Memorial Park.

The University District is in the infrastructure building stage and their primary focus in 2008 will be the formation of a community development corporation (CDC), improvement district that focuses on housing within the district, and towards the end of the year a commercial viability study. There is a lot of good support from the City and Business, however even some of the supporters remain skeptical. I think a lot depends on the success north of I-630 and how successful the larger community perceives UALR to be over the next 5 years.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Certainly something else to include is the rebuilding of University Avenue itself, in the stretch that extends from Markham south to 19th Street/Boyle Park Drive. Come to think of it, as long as we're talking about the south end of this section of the city, there's also the relatively new shopping center on the west side of University, between Boyle Park and Broadmoor. That's worth a little, I should think.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Certainly something else to include is the rebuilding of University Avenue itself, in the stretch that extends from Markham south to 19th Street/Boyle Park Drive. Come to think of it, as long as we're talking about the south end of this section of the city, there's also the relatively new shopping center on the west side of University, between Boyle Park and Broadmoor. That's worth a little, I should think.

Good points:

University Avenue is being widened to 6 lanes.

The new shopping center in Broadmoor is quite nice. We eat at Senor Tequilas quite often.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The new shopping center in Broadmoor is quite nice. We eat at Senor Tequilas quite often.

I do too. It's very very handy, affordable, and they have slightly longer operating hours. The little deli at the end is good, but kind of spendy for what they do.

In a pinch, I use the one-day dry cleaner there, though I try to get most of my business to Oak Forest.

Since that strip mall and the Hilton remodel happened just before I returned to the city, I forget that they're still relatively new for everyone, and not just for me. Is anything ever going to go into the former Brandon House space/location on the corner of 12th/University?

And thanks for the reminder about the Children's Library. Is the entrance then going to be at 12th and Jonesboro? If only that would also help start a trend of at least stabilizing the neighborhoods east of there. The redevelopment of the former Lee School into a neighborhood center (gorgeous, by the way, if you've never been in there) seemed like a really optimistic thing at the time, but sometimes seems like an island. The boarded up homes and empty lots are sad, and, even worse, residents are a lot more transient. Not enough people stay long enough to really care. The big exception there is the infill BCD has done along 11th street. I think they're the ones, at least, someone correct me?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.