Arkansas Blog

So long as there is good design, it's density that's important & the Partnership is right.

Is it FEAR or EXPENSE that causes the River Market Parking Deck to be underutilized?

I remember several parking-related carjackings, robberies and beatings (no rapes or murders?) in the District, at least one particularly disturbing incident in the Deck itself.

Has crime actually decreased since then, or is it just unreported by the media, like crime in Hillcrest and the Heights?
Is there security on the deck, or cameras, or anyone watching them? How does one escape an attacker on a multi-story parking deck?

Catman Doo (from the other post) has a point:
"Someone needs to be asking what the hotel will do to the busiest River Rail trolley stop in front of the police substation, and whether construction will shut down the streetcar and for how long. Why will there be parking entrance on Commerce when the city's parking deck planners agreed to not put its ramps on commerce so as to avoid gridlock with the streetcars."

Does anyone have a picture of the actual design? It seems rather important to the discussion. I think Priest makes a lot of good points, but I'd have to see what the actual design looks like. I doubt it would be anymore out of place than the CAL building.

Bobby Roberts lies down with dogs and is astounded to get up with fleas.

I think the aloft Hotel will be a wonderful and needed addition to LR by bringing a new and innovative look to the otherwise stark and 'patterned' look to our other downtown lodging venues. One thought.... It seems funny that Sharon Priest rides her endorsement on the additional taxes, etc. that will be brought into the area.......Want revenue/taxes for the city ? ?? Open up the area for gaming. It's absolutely pathetic that so much revenue is going across the AR border to go play slots, etc. I was just in Siloam Springs, just west of Springdale, and a huge casino is going in LITERALLY across State Line Road in Oklahoma ! I could throw a rock and hit it...... and Tunica ?? Just a drive over the AR River ??? Come on, Arkansas! I haven't seen a "Holy God" opening up the ground and sending Gold Strike casino into hell yet, and Oaklawn seems to have been standing for a while now...no sight of Satan's pitchfork in their butt !
We're 'missing the tax/revenue boat on the casino, gaming, hotel, and restaurant industry by not allowing gaming into AR. Indian gaming is absolutely BOOMING in Oklahoma, to say the very least, and Mississippi found a way to get around the religious 'zealots', and they even come into Little Rock to "bus" our tax paying citizens to Mississippi to play blackjack!! It's time for many reasons....not including taking the heavy tax burden off the middle class and increasing our educational standards for our children. Come on...one of you 'mavericks' on the board or legislature stand up and bring the 21st century to Arkansas !

This is NOT NYC or LA. It's already a bit claustrophobic down there. IF there truly is a need for more lodging in the general vicinity, put in a visually unobtrusive low-rise, with pools/atriums on the periphery, NOT smack in the middle. We can have the needed lodging AND not create urban canyons.
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Yeah, like the old Ritz at Asher and FP.

I hated the day they filled in the pool.

Suggestion for the design of the hotel. Have a bar located facing PCA that will open up during nice weather. I can't think of anything better than having a beer while waiting on the trolley.

Hey Bobby, go read a good book and get the hell out of the way of progress!

1) I think the relative need for economic development for different cities does - and should - influence their interest in restricting development. e. g. historic preservation, zoning, etc. Not every city can afford ideal levels of preservation and controlled development. Little Rock, like everybody else, has to decide what it can afford. That being said, I think that SP is correct in describing this project in terms of its economic impact. I've been a part of bringing a convention to Little Rock and number and proximity of hotel rooms to convention facilities is a big deal. That and eating establishments and the convention facilities themselves are the three major factors organizations use in convention site selection. After a group determines whether the convention site itself will work that have to know how many hotel rooms and restaurants are within walking distance of the site. Unless everyone is driving to the convention, you have to account for those who fly in not having to also rent a car to get around. That's a deal breaker. It adds a level of expense and time and trouble that most people won't get over.

We need that hotel in that location if we want to remain a viable small to mid-size convention destination.

2) Is it really that big a problem architecturally to violate the DOD this way? I think SP also addresses these concerns effectively. I'm no architect, but I don't think a 7-story building will be a problem here. First Security, a half-block away, w/the Marriott inside, is 14 stories. If the upper stories are set back and the first floor is retail space, I think it could be a wonderful addition to the River Market. The RM has some great restaurants. More would be even better. They would bring more folks down there and create more capacity for conventioneers. When a convention comes to town, they need lots of restaurant seats within walking distance to accomodate their crowds during limited meal breaks. If the ground floor exterior matches the facades of the rest of the district, I think it will work great.

Perplexed...the River Market needs more retailers, not restaurants. There are by far enough restaurants and bars there now. thenaturalstate...Bobby Roberts has done more for progress in the River Market than just about anyone. He sees beyond just dollar signs and envisions real progress for our city, acheiving it not just with big condos and hotels.

WYK, I should have identified my remarks as from the perspective of someone who plans conventions. Personally, I would like more retail, but until there are more people nearby, retail won't work. If you consider that area as a small to mid-size convention destination, you need more restaurants/hotels. Consider the area as a small-size San Antonio and you can see the model. They have one of the most successful convention areas in the country. It takes restaurants and hotels to make that work. Those people bring outside dollars in to the city on numerous levels that you can't duplicate in many, in any, other ways. The NCAA Basketball Regional last spring is a good example.

I appreciate Bobby Roberts' and the Library System's history of operating within the DOD. My sense of fair play says that these other folks should, too. It's only fair. But, in my opinon, the DOD is too restrictive for the reasons SP enumerated. The ability to develop property should only be restricted when there is a compeling community interest. I think zoning, etc. are appropriate. While I only know what I read in the paper (blog), based on what I've seen, this project is deserving of the requested variance.

I'm looking forward to the day when there are enough people living downtown to support significant retail, including a grocery store no farther away than 5th St. I'm afraid I'm old enough to remember the days before the University Mall was built and Main Streets in LR and NLR were the retail center of all of Arkansas. It was hard to watch it all die over the last 40+ years and I look forward to the possibilty of it coming back. It's going to take condos to do that.

Perplexed...just fyi, the first two businesses that came in after the redevelopment of the River Market District were two retailers - Hearne Fine Art and River Market ArtSpace - both art galleries that opened in 1997. I believe they opened the same month. While other venues (especially restaurants...look at Velo Rouge, closed down for weeks now) have closed their doors, the two that have made it through are two art galleries. Seems to me these conventioners are shopping for things unique to our state. Why look like every other downtown in America? The River Market was on the verge of great things and still can be. What other downtown has such a unique mix of museums, libraries, galleries, and even a presidential library. Move the hotel a block or so over, not right there in the middle. Think outside the box and put some wonderful retail shops there. Imagine it! It's the uniqueness of a city that puts it on the map and makes people want to come here - not the number of hotel rooms.

From above: "The proposed building's "L" shaped configuration will include retail space on Clinton Avenue. "

Having retail in the bottom floor of the hotel allows the same piece of property to support both uses. Move the hotel and build a 1-story retail only space there and the developer loses the multiple revenue streams. Where do you plan to put the hotel? A block east and it's right on the freeway. Want to listen to that all night? Moses & Tucker are putting a hotel at 4th & Commerce - probably at the edge of effective walking distance from the convention center.

It's the number of hotel rooms that can help bring more convention business and keep the retail/restaurants open. I think you and I agree on what we love about the RM. I just don't think that this particular development will adversely impact that at all. If you're walking down PCA, you won't often notice whether the retail spaces on the corner of PCA & Commerce have a hotel above them, especially if they do the setback described above.

Perplexed...agree with you 100% except...there is a height restriction in the River Market. No new buildings can be above 4 stories tall. If that were not the case, I wouldn't have any grips. However, if variances are given to this hotel...what stops it from continuing to happen? Next thing you know, the historic storefronts are bought up by big developers, bulldozed, and even bigger buildings come into play. They whole reason for the creation of the overlay district was to preserve the historic integrity of the area. Hotel - great; for it. Retail - super; bring it on. Just keep the height restrictions within the rules designated. Also, you mention where to move this. I do understand there is other available land within walking distance of this location that wouldn't be right in the middle of the market. Speaking of...what about some kind of companion to the RM on that corner. Remember the failed MetroCenter Mall? What about getting that project right this time and putting it there. What was the line from the baseball movie - if you build it, they will come. Put in something that fulfills the needs of the locals first, and also attracts the visitors as well. We can do it!

I think main street in NLR has a better mix of businesses than the River Market, and it looks better too. The River market is basically only 3 blocks long.

B. Roberts has done a ton of great deeds for downtown. He has also done a lot for the entire community by establishing well equipped and well staffed libraries in two counties. He had won more elections than Bill Clinton and Mike Huckabee combined...maybe 18 or so. He has been a public servant without a tinge of scandal ever. Let's give him a good listen on his constructive criticism...he's taking on the proverbial foe who buys ink by the barrel, so he is not doing it to advance his own personal agenda, be assured.

Sanford:
"He has been a public servant without a tinge of scandal ever." Ask the people in England if they would agree with you. Does plasma from the Arkansas Department of Corrections ring a bell?

Saywhat, I will have to say it does not ring a bell.

Saywhat (is your last name Yuwill?)I have now read Mara Leveritt's article, and find from it that BR was incredibly candid and accountable for the problems, even though he was in a beseiged minority on the prison board. Your point is taken, but if anything it shows that Bobby has one of the highest integrity and honesty quotients to be found. The story, for thos interested is at

http://www.arktimes.com/Articles/ArticleViewer.aspx?ArticleID=3038e9e5-b309-4e6a-92db-8ba15f058fe1

Who has control over Governor Clinton's papers about the plasma episode? Dr. Roberts does. Don't see much difference in this than if Karl Rowe was in charge of G.W. B.'s papers.