Monday, December 12, 2011
Little Rock Government Potential sites for research park revealed
Posted by Max Brantley on Mon, Dec 12, 2011 at 5:31 PM
The Little Rock Technology Park Authority will hold a community briefing at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Entergy Arkansas's Reddy Room at 9th and Louisiana.
Despite some earlier uncertainty on the point, the authority WILL have a draft ready for public inspection on the request for proposals from engineering firms to evaluate sites for the project, intended as an incubator for private businesses. It will be underwritten at least in part by Little Rock taxpayers, with $22 million already committed from a new city sales tax. That is the only significant financial commitment to the project so far.
Here's the RFP. It details three potential general areas for the project, envisioned to require about 30 acres and incorporate a central drive on a campus with "mid-level" buildings of up to four floors, eventually with 850,000 to 975,000 square feet of space in multiple buildings. Perimeter security is said to be important, but the project is supposed to integrate with the neighborhood, not be walled off, and include a water feature. The plan would include a first phase, for one 80,000 to 100,000 square foot building with a 20,000-square-foot footprint, and a second phase for the built-out project. The three sites suggested in the draft RFP, yet to be approved by the Authority board:
* NEAR THE MILLS FREEWAY: Roughly bounded by Interstate 630 on the north, Elm on the east, Monroe on the west and the midpoint of the block between 11th and 12th on the south. The district is not a perfect rectangle; it zigs and zags at various points.
* SOUTH OF 12TH IN OAK FOREST: Roughly bounded by 12th Street on the north, 18th Street on the south, the alley between Fair Park and Tyler on the west and the alley between Jackson and Monroe on the east. In the zigging and zagging for this parcel, both Franklin School and Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church would be omitted, among others.
* CLOSE TO UALR: Roughly bounded by University Avenue on the west, the alley between Taylor and Fair Park on the east, 19th Street on the north, and the midpoint between 23rd and 24th Streets on the south. This would take in the Arkansas Methodist Children's Home and some existing open land that abuts the UALR campus and UA Cooperative Extension Service buildings. UALR and UAMS are also sponsors of the project. (Note: the district zigs around Popatop Liquor at 19th and University.)
Noted: Real estate executive Dickson Flake is the contact for the proposal. He, along with the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, which supplied the draft to me in response to an FOI request, have been driving this project since its inception, as the draft indicates.
Neighbors will have some specifics to talk about this week, which is good. Some seem certain to complain, again, about the top-down nature of this project, however. It will appear to be fully developed as to design and potential location though the Authority Board has so far had only one organizational meeting. From talking to them, I know neighborhood residents have some ideas of their own about where the project might best be placed. The Board could, of course, direct revisions in the plan as drawn.
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Comments (9)
Showing 1-9 of 9
I like the Mills Freeway site the best of those. Build a couple of skybridges over or tunnels under the interstate and make it contiguous with the UAMS/VA system campus.
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Research what.... how to grift the taxpayers out of more millions without even saying what kind of research?
We should pay double if that's what takes to kick these con men out of the country.
The Research Park could immediately locate itself at the Ray Winder Field ball park location. It is vacant. UALR owns it (or has the purchaser rights). Locating the Research Park at Ray Winder Field makes it accessible to UAMS, I-630, and within a five minute drive of the UALR campus. Locating it at the Ray Winder Field location will not require dislocation of any residential neighborhoods and puts it conveniently to War Memorial Park.
Of course, locating the Research Park at Ray Winder Field also would mean the Research Authority would exercise the eminent domain power on a vacant parcel owned by UAMS rather than on residential properties owned primarily by black homeowners with modest incomes.
Wouldn't it be nice if Mayor Stodola and the LR City Directors used the $22 million leverage to help those homeowners stay put and tell the Research Authority and UAMS to make Ray Winder Field work? That isn't too much to ask. But it may be too much like right for Stodola, the City Directors, the Research Authority Board, and UAMS to do, given the dismissive way they've acted thus far.
Correction. I intended to write that UAMS owns (or has the purchase rights) to the Ray Winder Field property. Again, that location is large enough, accessible to UAMS and the McClellan VA Hospital, accessible to I-630 (Wilbur Mills Freeway), has utilities already serving large users (War Memorial Stadium, LR Zoo, UAMS, McClellan VA Hospital, etc.), and won't require displacing homeowners.
They totally should put it at the Pulaski Tech campus on the county line.
Fanny Foxx is the only way to go so they will probably put it next to UALR thereby wasting any developement opportunity while destroying the only viable neighborhood and making the most money for the insiders.
What is wrong about the east side of I-30 downtown so there is ease of accesss? Putting anything along the I-630 corridor is taking an overloaded roadway at rush hour and doubling the road usage. I hope the state and Metroplan refuse to add any more lanes. It is time to find an alternative to paving most of the city so cars can congregate for 8 hours a day.
They still need to find a company first and see what is needed before creating a vast wasteland. Successful industrial parks are usually built around an existing LARGE facility and is occupied in some extend by their suppliers. I see a vast wasteland and not on TV.
Of those proposals, I prefer the one that is bordered on the north by I-630. 2 of those proposals would do a lot more damage to the Fair Park Neighborhood than would 1 Kum N Go at the corner of I-630 and Fair Park.
Just sayin!
Arky
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