LR voters OK plan to fix 1939 center

Little Rock voters approved a bond referendum Tuesday to fund a renovation of its Robinson Center downtown.

The outcome of the special election allows the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau to take out up to $73.5 million in bonds to pay for the construction and other work upfront, and then use a portion of the city’s 2 percent hospitality tax to repay those bonds over 30 years.

The unofficial results late Tuesday were 5,183 votes for and 1,800 against.

Work on the building could start as early as July, said Capi Peck, owner of Trio’s restaurant and a member of the Advertising and Promotions Commission, which oversees spending of the hospitality tax. The renovation is estimated to take about two years. A reopening is planned for September 2016. The music and conference hall, built in 1939 during the Work Progress Administration era, has never had a major renovation.

Planned is a renovated theater area to better accommodate larger Broadway shows. The theater will be shortened to improve acoustics and ambiance, and two tiers of balcony seating and box seating will be added around the sides to provide a more intimate setting for patrons.

A 500-seat ballroom will be built to overlook the Broadway Bridge and Arkansas River and connect to the second-floor catering kitchen at the Doubletree Hotel. The current basement-level meeting rooms will be moved to a multistory, glass-fronted addition on the back of the building also overlooking the river.

Supporters of the renovation have said the update will attract more entertainment, conventions and tourism to Little Rock.