Award winner on ‘quest’ to achieve downtown redevelopment
David Peavy is looking forward to the day when people can enjoy his latest project.
“At some point, we’ll be able to get on the roof and look out over the city,” he said during a recent interview in the lobby of the former Texarkana National Bank at West Broad Street and North State Line Avenue. “You can see a long ways.”
The image is fitting for Peavy, this year’s Cassandra Cooper Gazette Giant. The award recognizes his far-reaching vision for downtown Texarkana — and the work he’s done to make it real.
In 2017, Peavy took on renovating the long-abandoned Ritchie Grocery Building at Olive and Front streets. Now called 1894 City Market, the building is thriving as home to 18 apartments, an art gallery, a “speakeasy” night spot and more.
The next year, he bought a Pullman-standard 1378 Concho train lounge car manufactured around 1940, named it The Flying Crow and installed it as a cafe and coffee shop space near 1894 City Market. Alley Cats Coffee Bar now operates in the car.
And in 2020, Peavy decided to tackle his biggest project yet, refurbishing the old, empty bank and turning it into a luxury, 60-unit apartment building renamed The Texarkanan.
“You kind of feel that that you’re assigned tasks in life,” he said. “It’s more of a quest. … You have to look at your heart. Were you assigned to do this, or are you just doing it on your own?”
The Texarkana community is full of exceptional people, said Peavy, who has lived here since age 5.
“I think everybody’s a gi
ant in their own field,” he said. “You can take someone out of their out of their element, and they’re stupid. You take me out of my element, and I’m stupid. …
“It’s neat to be able to create, because you do feel closer to the Creator, as a creator. You feel a good joy inside yourself when you’re able to accomplish something like that. What I’m good at is creating spaces so other people can do what they do.”
The Gazette Giant award is named for Cassandra Cooper, who retired in 2022 after a 41-year career with the Texarkana Gazette. Each year, the award recognizes one person who exemplifies Cooper’s steadfast dedication to making Texarkana a better place through their work.