North Little Rock raises cost for building

A revised cost for the three-story 600 Main Building under construction in downtown North Little Rock has raised the construction price to $8.37 million, an increase of $22,750 over the past two months, Downtown Development Board Chairman Danny Bradley said Wednesday.

The latest total — up from $8.34 million reported to the board in June as the construction cost — is expected to be the final maximum cost, outside of any fees and closing costs, Bradley said.

The “substantial completion date” has also changed to February, Bradley said. The original completion date was in January.

The Downtown Development Board approved late Monday afternoon raising the construction loan amount it has with First Security Bank by $198,431 to $7,998,431. Another $654,745 comes from the building’s three partners: The North Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Arkansas Automobile Dealers Association and Taggart Architects. Taggart is also the building’s architect. The total includes a contingency for any unexpected costs.

The change was because of revised numbers for the “finish out” of the building’s interior, Bradley said. The total includes the $371,800 value of the land for the building and a parking lot. Taking that cost away puts the construction cost by itself at the nearly $8 million loan amount, he said.

“We already own the land, so that’s not really a new cost,” said Bradley, who is also the mayor’s chief of staff.

The Downtown Development Board manages the building’s construction and owns the land, representing the city.

After reviewing numbers again Wednesday morning, Bradley said he was “hopeful we won’t need all of that loan.” Neither the city, nor the development board, will pay any money toward the loan, but that debt will be split between the three partners, Bradley said.