Capitol Lofts takes off downtown, with lagniappe
Urban living in downtown Little Rock is turning a corner.
The Capitol Lofts apartments will open at the end of 2014 or beginning of 2015, according to David Robinson, one of the investors in the project.
It will be the third downtown project for investors led by Scott Reed, a Portland, Ore.based developer, and will be “around the corner” from the other two projects, Main Street Lofts and K Lofts, also on Main Street, both of which are under construction.
Capitol Lofts LLC bought on Oct. 31 the Hall and Davidson buildings in the 200 block of west Capitol Avenue from Robert G. Davidson for $850,000, according to county records.
And the deal has been sweetened by the return of one of Little Rock’s favorite chefs.
The five-story Hall building, erected in 1923, is the architectural “little sister” to the 12-story Boyle building (1909) in the Italianate style at the corner of Main and Capitol, the northern end of the Main Street Lofts project.
The three-story Davidson building (1947) is in the International style, which means a lack of detail. Robinson conceded that it presents “a challenge,” just as the Kahn building does, squeezed among its three more-stylish neighbors in the Main Street project.
Robinson said he did not have a firm figure on the price of the 65,000-square-foot Capitol Lofts project, although it will be “in the millions.”
The city approved the rezoning of the property to allow the creation of 56 onebedroom apartments, which, in the contemporary style, will have hardwood floors, granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances.
Those amenities have become the upscale standard, but the Capitol Lofts will offer two that aren’t standard.
There will be a workshop for residents to tinker on their bicycles, de rigueur transportation for urbanists, and a place where hand tools can be checked out, Robinson said. Sixty spaces for parking motorized vehicles will be offered just south of the project, in a lot currently leased by Best Park and next to the location of the long-demolished Arkansas Theatre, a movie house.
Not to worry. There will be a small theater in the Capitol
Lofts for movie viewing.
Rent on the apartments, which will be between 600 and 800 square feet, has not been set, he said.
The old office buildings have been vacant for a long time, although the ground floor is home to two eateries — Hanaroo Sushi Bar and B&J’s Restaurant and Lounge — and the Downtown 7THST. Music Hall. There is one vacancy, space that had been rented as campaign headquarters by Bill Halter, the former lieutenant governor who last summer dropped his effort to gain the Democratic nomination for governor.
Speculation among devotees of the Little Rock restaurant scene has simmered since Donnie Ferneau left Rocket 21, originally Ferneau, in Hillcrest and more recently has been a consultant chef for Cellar 220, which is at 220 W. Sixth St., around the corner — it’s downtown living — from Capitol Lofts.
Chef Ferneau has claimed the vacancy. What it 4THST. will be called, what the slant on the cuisine will be, those things are to be determined, Ferneau, 38, said.
He has signed a letter of intent with Capitol Lofts LLC to put in a restaurant. 6THST. This much he knows, or is willing to say: “It will much different than Ferneau was, with the same quality.”
And he knows this: “I feel fortunate and blessed. I’m excited to get in the kitchen and cooking again, cooking for Little Rock.” If you have a tip, call Jack Weatherly at (501) 378-3518 or e-mail him at