Mayor inspired by Texas square

Council to hear NLR plaza idea

Mayor Joe Smith wants to transform North Little Rock’s vacant Argenta Plaza into a vibrant area for dining, shopping and the arts and is turning to Fort Worth’s popular Sundance Square as the model for success.

The city-owned Argenta Plaza, now a 0.66-acre, empty lot at 510 Main St., has for years been looked at as desirable for use as a “market square” for people to meet, shop, eat and just basically enjoy themselves.

Smith has scheduled a presentation about his idea to the City Council at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, 30 minutes before the council’s regular meeting. The meeting is on Tuesday this week because of the Memorial Day holiday Monday.

“I’ve looked at photographs of different plazas from all over the world, and I kept coming back to this one in Fort Worth because I could envision it here,” Smith said last week. “It’s something we could have that looks real classy, but also something we could do for a reasonable cost.

“I see this as a place to meet, to relax and to enjoy the [included] water feature, but also a place to

have festivals and functions,” he added.

Smith’s vision, of course, would be on a much smaller scale than Fort Worth’s Sundance Square, Northa shopping and entertainment Little districtRock that takes up 35 developed city blocks and draws 10 million people a year, or 27,398 daily, accordingAREA to a Sundance ENLARGED Square fact sheet. The name pays homage to the Sundance Kid, who, with partner in crime Butch Cassidy, frequented the area during its Old West days.

“It would be a mini version,” Smith said, adding that he hasn’t yet figured a cost estimate for North Little Rock’s adaptation. “I can see our area being a third the size of it. Maybe Junction bridge more than that. They have 60 tables out there [within the outdoor Sundance Square Plaza]. I can see us possibly with 20.”

Smith, Aldermen Debi Ross and Maurice Taylor and Special Projects Director Jim Billings were among a small group to visit Sundance Square in April at the beginning of the annual Main Street Fort Worth Arts Festival, which draws 425,000 visitors yearly. Billings researched the development and took photographs and video to use for the presentation to the council.

“They want active people downtown,” Billings said, explaining the property’s restricted hours for children, dancing-water displays, movie nights and date night times, to avoid conflicting activities. “Since the Sundance Square is privately owned, their big interest is in sales for the retailers and restaurants.”

North Little Rock acquired the Argenta Plaza site in December 2012 as part of a property swap involving the 0.48-acre site of the former Checkmate Club at Fourth and Poplar streets that the city bought in 2010. The city received an extra $85,000 in the swap, done with Argenta LLC, a group that included North Little Rock developer John Gaudin, with the stipulation that the money go toward developing the plaza area.

In March 2014, the city added $72,500 toward “development and improvements” to the proposed plaza as part of an agreement for the city to accept a donation of property at 3913 E. Broadway the previous December. The agreement stipulated that if the city sold the property — it did for $145,000 in December 2013 — half of the proceeds would be put toward the future plaza.

Adding a “market square” was one recommendation from a 2010 downtown master development plan, which the city paid $85,000 to participate in with the Argenta Community Development Corp. and The Mill LLC, a private company also involving Gaudin.

In January 2014, the City Council approved a $19,500 contract with Thomas Engineering Co. of North Little Rock for “design work” for the plaza. Smith said last week that the work was basically to identify the lot size and location of utilities. That’s the only allocation made so far toward the property, city Finance Director Karen Scott said.

“There was no vision within this design work, just basically engineering work,” Smith said.

“I think we’re close enough to future development around that [plaza] area that it’s time for us to start making a plan and to earmark some money for this plaza,” Smith said.

Sketching out his idea for development, Smith drew a three-story, mixed-use building along Main Street between Fifth Street and the River Rail Trolley Barn at Seventh Street, with entryways at each building corner off Main to the open-air plaza in back with a water feature. A restaurant would be on the northeast corner with an outdoor dining area. The city’s Heritage Center, the former History Commission building at 506 Main St., would take up the south end with a large mural to be painted on its wall.

Sundance Square’s perhaps most-photographed feature is a mural of the legendary Chisholm Trail cattle drives painted on the former Jett Building, now named the Mural Building because of the artwork. Another prominent feature is the fountain area that contains 216 programmable jets with lights for dancing displays, Billings said, but which can be turned off so the entire area becomes an open space for gathering or a place for tables and chairs.

Another option for developing the Argenta Plaza would involve having the open-air plaza front Main Street instead, with the proposed building behind the plaza, Smith said. He’s debating which design he prefers, he said, adding that the plaza area could expand if it is behind the proposed building.

“The good thing is we own the land,” Smith said of the possibility for development to become reality.

Another part of the overall development picture, Smith said, is possibly extending the Junction Bridge walking/biking path, which crosses the Arkansas River from Little Rock, to pass behind the plaza area to the trolley barn property.

Smith has previously talked about the possibility of the Arkansas Arts Center in Little Rock relocating to North Little Rock’s riverfront, generally to be in an area where such a pathway would be extended. A city sales-tax increase would be needed to make the Arts Center relocation happen, but Smith said last week that no decisions have been made on whether to schedule an election this year.