West Little Rock

[adman0468]

On 8/24/2020 at 12:21 PM, MDC26 said:

Glad to hear that something will be going in where the Mini dealership was.  You would think, that they would not spend $3 million to move the Audi dealership away from the Cadillac dealership unless they had something planned for that location.  It would be cool to see Little Rock get Arkansas' first Porsche dealership.  

Wasn't the space just north of Lexus supposed to be for future dealers? Like three smaller ones, each with their own showroom and service dept? I always thought Porsche would end up in one of those. 

[Architect]

Wasn't the space just north of Lexus supposed to be for future dealers? Like three smaller ones, each with their own showroom and service dept? I always thought Porsche would end up in one of those. 

I’d heard that, but I suspect they weren’t expecting to close the Mini dealership. That’s probably changed the mixup somewhat, though I could see Cadillac and Porsche moving to that site.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MDC26]

On 8/25/2020 at 4:00 PM, MDC26 said:

In the past week or so, there's been activity on the cleared hillside on Rahling.  They've started to move some dirt and there's a construction trailer set up there.   Anyone know what's going on?

They now have a sign up.  It will now be The Blake at Chenal Valley (Assisted Living/Independent Living)

https://www.blakeliving.com/chenalvalley/home/

[Architect]

I don't know of a better thread to put this, but has anyone noticed the demolition going on along the north side of Cantrell just west of Mississippi?  To be candid, I'm glad to see this strange collection of worn down buildings being taken down because they've been in a bad state of repair for, well, decades.  Anyone know what's going on?  It's certainly prime real estate.

[Arkanzin]

18 hours ago, Architect said:

I don't know of a better thread to put this, but has anyone noticed the demolition going on along the north side of Cantrell just west of Mississippi?  To be candid, I'm glad to see this strange collection of worn down buildings being taken down because they've been in a bad state of repair for, well, decades.  Anyone know what's going on?  It's certainly prime real estate.

Would that be where a nail salon and, further west, the place where The Hop and several restaurants came and went?  (Before you get to Shipley's)  If so, yes, those collection of buildings have been an eyesore.  Don't know what' s going there.  The lot is not deep so I'm not certain what could fit there. 

[Arkanzin]

I had heard that David's Burgers at Markham and Bowman was looking for a new location due to landlord/tenant issues.  Looks like David's will be relocating to Kanis and Bowman.  A plumbing permit was issued for David's Burgers at 11921 Kanis Road.  

[Architect]

9 minutes ago, Arkanzin said:

Would that be where a nail salon and, further west, the place where The Hop and several restaurants came and went?  (Before you get to Shipley's)  If so, yes, those collection of buildings have been an eyesore.  Don't know what' s going there.  The lot is not deep so I'm not certain what could fit there. 

Correct - that's the location.  It is a shallow lot.

[jcaruth]

It’s going to be a Genesis Carwash like the one off chenal parkway. 

[dnashobviously]

7 hours ago, Arkanzin said:

I had heard that David's Burgers at Markham and Bowman was looking for a new location due to landlord/tenant issues.  Looks like David's will be relocating to Kanis and Bowman.  A plumbing permit was issued for David's Burgers at 11921 Kanis Road.  

This is the little (now closed) liquor store on the corner’s addresses.  That will be an upgrade to that corner.  That spot is very busy these days with traffic due to the apartments being built down Bowman and all the other new builds in the area.  
 

I wonder if there has been any talk about widening the road on Bowman through there passed the Skatium as it was pretty backed up the last couple times I was there.

[gwarren25]

On 1/12/2021 at 5:08 PM, dnashobviously said:

I wonder if there has been any talk about widening the road on Bowman through there passed the Skatium as it was pretty backed up the last couple times I was there.

Yes, Bowman is to be widened to four lanes down to Cherry Laurel as part of the Kanis widening project.  They've already cleared vegetation from the west side of Bowman in that area.

Edited January 27, 2021 by gwarren25

[LRU1967]

I guess the owners of all the Bowman Road apartments are going to pay for the road work??  Or will it be Little Rock taxpayers?

[Arkanzin]

16 hours ago, LRU1967 said:

I guess the owners of all the Bowman Road apartments are going to pay for the road work??  Or will it be Little Rock taxpayers?

You know the answer to that!  Developers never pay.  Taxpayers do!  Just take a look at all the sidewalks we don't have.  

[Architect]

You know the answer to that!  Developers never pay.  Taxpayers do!  Just take a look at all the sidewalks we don't have.  

That’s actually almost never true. The city, with few exceptions, always burdens new developments with the cost and responsibility of implementing any new street improvements along the property frontage.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[theman]

Looks like the Crowne Plaza on Shackleford is no more. Driving by there on the freeway today and I saw there was a banner saying Plaza Hotel where the Crowne Plaza sign use to be. The hotel losing it’s flag is probably because of loss of business because of covid. Hopefully once things get better and travel picks up someone will come in, update the hotel and put a more prominent flag on it. It will need it with an updated Embassy Suites and a new Aloft in WLR.

[Architect]

Looks like the Crowne Plaza on Shackleford is no more. Driving by there on the freeway today and I saw there was a banner saying Plaza Hotel where the Crowne Plaza sign use to be. The hotel losing it’s flag is probably because of loss of business because of covid. Hopefully once things get better and travel picks up someone will come in, update the hotel and put a more prominent flag on it. It will need it with an updated Embassy Suites and a new Aloft in WLR.

Wow...that’s unfortunate about the Crowne Plaza. It’s been there a LONG time. Also, I didn’t know about any updates at Embassy Suites?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MDC26]

6 hours ago, theman said:

Looks like the Crowne Plaza on Shackleford is no more. Driving by there on the freeway today and I saw there was a banner saying Plaza Hotel where the Crowne Plaza sign use to be. The hotel losing it’s flag is probably because of loss of business because of covid. Hopefully once things get better and travel picks up someone will come in, update the hotel and put a more prominent flag on it. It will need it with an updated Embassy Suites and a new Aloft in WLR.

It's possible that it was sold to a new owner.  When a hotel is sold, the franchise license doesn't necessarily transfer to the new owner.  The corporate brand may have to approve the new owner, if they wish to still carry that franchise name.  They may feel that the new owner will not be a good fit for their name, and deny them a franchise license.  Also, the new owner may also have additional franchise fees that they must pay to stay with that franchise, and so they decide that they don't want incur that cost, so they decide to drop that name brand.  

[Arkanzin]

7 hours ago, theman said:

Looks like the Crowne Plaza on Shackleford is no more. Driving by there on the freeway today and I saw there was a banner saying Plaza Hotel where the Crowne Plaza sign use to be. The hotel losing it’s flag is probably because of loss of business because of covid. Hopefully once things get better and travel picks up someone will come in, update the hotel and put a more prominent flag on it. It will need it with an updated Embassy Suites and a new Aloft in WLR.

It is going independent for a bit until it transitions into the Marriott family of hotels.  It will be a Delta Hotel.   It's already listed as a Delta Hotel on Delta Hotel's website.   There are only 46 in the US.  The nearest ones are Dallas or Jackson, Mississippi.  Looks nice even if Jackson, Mississippi, already has one.  

Edited February 2, 2021 by Arkanzin

[Architect]

23 minutes ago, Arkanzin said:

Looks nice even if Jackson, Mississippi, already has one.  

LOL!

[MDC26]

3 hours ago, Arkanzin said:

It is going independent for a bit until it transitions into the Marriott family of hotels.  It will be a Delta Hotel.   It's already listed as a Delta Hotel on Delta Hotel's website.   There are only 46 in the US.  The nearest ones are Dallas or Jackson, Mississippi.  Looks nice even if Jackson, Mississippi, already has one.  

Well, glad to hear that.  Google maps already has it listed as a Delta Hotel.  I stayed in one in Ontario Canada a year and a half ago.  I think its on the same level of Crowne Plaza, just switching from InterContinental to Marriott brand.  

[ArkansasTraveler]

1 hour ago, MDC26 said:

Well, glad to hear that.  Google maps already has it listed as a Delta Hotel.  I stayed in one in Ontario Canada a year and a half ago.  I think its on the same level of Crowne Plaza, just switching from InterContinental to Marriott brand.  

That sounds like a fair assessment. Within Marriott's portfolio, Delta is classified as a "Premium" brand — on a par with the flagship Marriott brand, and above all the portfolio's other brands in the city (and the forthcoming Aloft) that are all at the "Select" level.

[Architect]

That sounds like a fair assessment. Within Marriott's portfolio, Delta is classified as a "Premium" brand — on a par with the flagship Marriott brand, and above all the portfolio's other brands in the city (and the forthcoming Aloft) that are all at the "Select" level.

Probably primarily due to the fact that it’s a full-service hotel (dining/meeting, etc), correct?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[theman]

Glad to hear that it’s getting a new flag soon and one that’s on par or maybe slightly better than Crowne Plaza.

18 hours ago, Architect said:

Wow...that’s unfortunate about the Crowne Plaza. It’s been there a LONG time. Also, I didn’t know about any updates at Embassy Suites?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Embassy Suites finished a multi million update last year.

[Arkanzin]

Mighty Crab will be opening in the former location of Tia's, Famous Dave's, DaqShack...any others?  

There's a Mighty Crab in Lakewood Village in North Little Rock and one on South University in the former Catfish City location.  I've never been to either.  

[dnashobviously]

1 hour ago, Arkanzin said:

Mighty Crab will be opening in the former location of Tia's, Famous Dave's, DaqShack...any others?  

There's a Mighty Crab in Lakewood Village in North Little Rock and one on South University in the former Catfish City location.  I've never been to either.  

Do you think they’ll close the South University location for this West Little Rock location?

[Engineer]

The South University location just opened in December, so I doubt the plans are to close it.