Plan revealed for old hotel site

HOT SPRINGS — A nonprofit organization Thursday unveiled a project to promote the redevelopment of the Majestic Hotel site as an outdoor thermal pool complex and multiuse plaza.

The project was announced during Fifty for the Future’s annual members meeting, which was held one day after the five-year anniversary of the fire that destroyed the original Majestic Hotel.

Fifty for the Future President Wayne Smith said in a news release that while the organization is not in a position to fund the project, it is requesting that the city of Hot Springs include a thermal pool complex as an option for consideration in a coming feasibility study.

The organization envisions the complex as a series of small, terraced pools toward the back of the 5-acre site. Other amenities such as a changing facility, nature trails and picnic areas would be included.

“The site could also include restaurants, retail outlets and a performing arts plaza,” the release said, adding that the project would be similar to thermal pool complexes in Colorado.

Smith said a thermal pool complex would complement several economic development activities underway since the site is in the downtown historic district.

A brochure released Thursday poses the question most visitors to the city ask: Where are the hot springs?

“As the namesake for our city and national park, the thermal hot springs are sought after by travelers,” the brochure says. “Except for a few hot water displays on Bathhouse Row, visitors miss out on what could be a quintessential ‘Spa City’ experience.”

The brochure cites a 1992 feasibility study that said a thermal pool complex “has the potential for broad market appeal if properly designed.”

Around 700,000 gallons of thermal water would be collected by the National Park Service from the springs on the side of Hot Springs Mountain, according to the brochure, with a surplus of around 300,000 gallons per day.

According to the Hot Springs National Park website, 700,000 gallons of thermal water are collected each day in the hot spring water reservoir. Except for in the downtown area, the springs’ water emerges in the park only at the base of Hot Springs Mountain, through a fault on the western slope.

The city acquired the 5-acre Majestic Hotel in September 2015 from Park Residences Development for $672,872 after condemning it earlier that year. Almost $1.4 million was spent from the solid waste fund to demolish three condemned structures and remove the remains from a February 2014 fire at the “yellow brick” building.

The city has said the public will be involved in the project’s next phase. It has shared its vision for how the property should be redeveloped during input sessions facilitated by Kansas State University’s Targeted Assistance to Brownfields program.

The city said the input sessions are expected to be held next month.

Fifty for the Future is a nonprofit 501(c)(4) social welfare organization that, according to the IRS, is to be operated exclusively to promote social welfare. The organization, founded in the late 1980s, currently has more than 100 members.

The organization has cited its involvement over the years in attracting the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts to Hot Springs; the reopening and growth of Magic Springs; the construction of the Hot Springs Convention Center and Bank OZK Arena; the Mid-America Science Museum expansion; and construction of the Greenway Trail, the Exchange Street Parking Plaza and road projects.

A video about the project is available online at youtu. be/5MSQCDPSSQc. The project’s website is at themajestic site.com/.