Demolition to start at Phoenix Village Mall

More than $1 million in a demolition and redevelopment phase of the old Phoenix Village Mall is to begin April 23, according to Lance Beaty, a co-owner of the mall property.

FSM Redevelopment Partners LLC on Jan. 22 acquired Phoenix Village Mall from Imperial Bank of California. FSM Redevelopment Partners is an affiliate of Bentonville-based Nelson and Beaty Properties LLLP.  Stephen Nelson, a Fort Smith physician, and Beaty are general partners in Nelson and Beaty Properties.

The mall sits on about 35 acres and is bordered by Wheeler Avenue to the west, Phoenix Avenue to the south and Towson Avenue to the east. Phoenix Village was the first enclosed mall in Arkansas, according to a statement from the new owner group. Today, the property consists of approximately 475,000 square feet of retail, office, medical and warehouse space.

The initial work will include a “complete rework” of the former Atwoods space to prepare 68,000 square feet for a commercial warehouse operation. The new operation will create new jobs, Beaty said, but is not sure how many. Beaty said he could not disclose the name of the new tenant.

A new restaurant — Big Al’s BBQ — has already opened on the mall property, and Beaty said he is hopeful a new strip mall center will be ready for existing tenants in early 2010.

Beaty said there are several discussions happening with potential tenants, but no deals are pending.

Initial interest to locate a doctors group to the site is on hold. In early February, a few doctors anxious about relationships with area hospitals expressed an interest in leasing 40,000-square feet of former clinic space in the old Phoenix Village Mall in Fort Smith. The medical space at Phoenix was once used by River Valley Musculoskeletal Center before doctors with that group moved in October 2006 to a new facility at Phoenix Avenue and South 79th Street.

“There is so much out there that is unknown right now, like what might happen at Sparks. So, that deal with them (doctors group) is just up in the air,” Beaty explained.

The site redevelopment includes extensive landscaping, but Beaty said landscaping costs and a final landscaping plan are dependent on talks with the city of Fort Smith.

“I am satisfied with the progress and the interest we are getting so far. The city has been cooperative so far, and what we expected when we conceived the project and what we are experiencing now have been consistent,” Beaty said.

Beaty said it is imperative that the site be cleaned quickly so potential tenants can see its potential

“This property, it’s a worn out site. We will have to clean it up to get people to understand what’s there, to give them a vision for what’s possible,” Beaty said.

Despite that urgency, Beaty said the effort will not move too fast because “we’d rather do it slower than do it wrong.”