Marina nearer reality in downtown Little Rock

After almost four decades of city officials dreaming of a marina and boat ramp in downtown Little Rock, a plan from a private developer has finally cleared the hurdles to make it a reality.

JAPB, LLC, a North Little Rock company, received approval from the Little Rock Board of Directors last week for a zoning change to allow construction of the Rock City Marina and Yacht Club, a mixed-use development that will include multifamily housing, a marina, retail space and restaurants on land at East Second and Bond streets along the Arkansas River.

The plan is the latest in a handful of developments proposed for the site — some at the solicitation of the city, and others floated by developers looking for riverfront land.

Many of the developers were attracted because of an agreement from the city to allow the use of about 3 acres of parkland on the western side of the property for a boat ramp and parking lot.

City officials said last week that they’re more confident in JAPB’s marina and development plan than they were in previous plans that ultimately failed to take off. That confidence comes in part because John Burkhalter, former Arkansas highway commissioner and candidate in the 2014 lieutenant governor’s race, is the managing partner of JAPB.

“I think the city has confidence that Mr. Burkhalter has the means, passion and vision to make this happen,” Assistant City Manager Bryan Day said. “He’s already applied for

and been awarded an Arkansas Game and Fish Commission grant for about $1 million. He’s done his due diligence and acquired the property and pulled the funding together.”

Burkhalter’s development plan, which also received approvals from the Little Rock Planning Commission, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and a local levee board, consists of four phases that he has previously said he hopes to complete by the end of 2016.

Plans submitted to the Planning Commission show 192 apartments — significantly fewer than previous plans — a clubhouse, two marinas with about 425 boat slips, and a floating restaurant and market.

Burkhalter said in an email Friday that some work to clear the site has already begun. He said groundbreaking on the biggest part of the construction would be between six months and a year from now.

The first phase of the development involves the city land and includes some green space, the boat ramp, a parking lot and part of the marina. Four of the eight planned apartment buildings, the clubhouse and the second part of the marina are scheduled for the second phase.

The third phase calls for finishing the other four apartment buildings and the final portion of the marina. The last phase focuses on the development’s retail elements and includes the floating restaurant, which would sell beer and wine, according to planning documents.

The apartment buildings will each be limited to three or four stories. A 2007 plan called for 10-story buildings, but that height raised some safety concerns because the property is in the flight path of the nearby Bill and Hillary Clinton International Airport/ Adams Field.

According to documents from the Corps of Engineers, the latest design also includes a mitigation project to replace habitat and floodwater storage after a small island is removed and create a no-wake zone where boats would be required to travel at idling speed to limit noise and the effect on wildlife and water quality.

Laurie Driver, spokesman for the Little Rock office of the Corps of Engineers, said several other plans had been discussed for the property, but JAPB was the first developer to ask for the appropriate permits.

Right now, if a Little Rock boat owner wants to launch into the Arkansas River, the options closest to downtown are at Murray Park off Rebsamen Road or to cross the river and launch from a boat ramp in North Little Rock, Day said.

The city Parks Department has been dreaming of a boat ramp downtown since Riverfront Park was planned in 1971, but funding resulted in several false starts.

The idea for a downtown marina was finally written into Little Rock’s parks master plan when Day was director of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department.

“It’s something we’ve wanted for a long time, but something always seemed to happen or funding wasn’t there,” Day said.

In 1997, the city became more serious about a boat ramp and marina just east of the then-burgeoning River Market entertainment district, when the now-closed Dempsey Film Group made a bid to buy some of the open land along the river to house its film and sound equipment.

Day said the Little Rock Planning Commission turned down a rezoning request for that strip of property. Then the city stepped in and exercised its right of first refusal to purchase green space along the river, a move allowed under state law to help protect riverbanks from erosion and certain kinds of development.

The city bought more than 3 acres there, and the property was worked into the city’s parks master plan.

The city’s interest was piqued again in 2002, when John “Mickey” Harbour walked into the River Market District with a plan for a parcel east of the new parkland. He called it Lighthouse Point, and it featured a boat ramp, marina, housing and retail space.

The city requested proposals for its portion of the property. While Harbour and a competing group got their funding and other ducks in a row, they submitted proposals to build, run and develop the city property next to about 9 acres needed for the rest of their mixed-use plans.

Day said the city chose Harbour’s proposal in 2002, then waited about five years. In that time, Harbour made little progress in attracting funding and investors and hadn’t purchased the 9 acres.

The city canceled the bid award and put the project back out for proposals.

In 2007, Burkhalter’s JAPB submitted the only proposal, and it was chosen. Burkhalter quickly set to work attracting investments, applying for grants and public partnerships, and purchasing property.

The Corps of Engineers and city Planning Commission asked for tweaks in the plan, including the lower building height. Burkhalter asked for a two-year extension.

Until earlier this year, when the proposal was resubmitted to the Planning Commission, city officials wondered whether Burkhalter’s incarnation would stay afloat.

Burkhalter wrote in an email Friday that he has a proven record with other developments. “I have spent my career creating projects, and this development is no different,” he wrote.

“The vision I have for this project is one that people are excited about because of the positive impact that it will have on our city and our economy. A public/private partnership of this magnitude does not happen overnight, but with continued determination and commitment we are going to see this through and make sure we are doing everything right.”