City, chamber to push riverfront corporate office

Paul Harvel witnessed the rebirth of a riverfront area in Little Rock that now includes a presidential library, modern convention center and hotels, trolley system, public library and numerous shops and restaurants. He’s convinced Fort Smith’s riverfront area also has development potential.

“It will happen. I don’t know when, but it will happen,” Harvel, president and CEO of the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce, said Tuesday during a study session of the Fort Smith Board of Directors.

Harvel said he worked to recruit companies to the Little Rock area when the downtown area was good and bad.

“I can tell you, a good attractive downtown helps you sell a region,” Harvel said.

The presentation to the Board of Directors included an outline by Jayne Hughes, downtown development coordinator for Fort Smith, of a plan to market the riverfront area as a site for a corporate headquarters location.

Hughes said the Fort Smith-based advertising agency of Williams-Crawford & Associates has agreed to package a marketing plan for the effort. Hughes stressed that a corporate headquarters site would fit in well with previous riverfront development studies, and that another study of potential riverfront uses is unnecessary.

“It’s time to put it (riverfront development) into action,” Hughes told the board.

Previous studies include the site location of the planned U.S. Marshals Museum immediately north of Harry E. Kelley Riverpark, relocation of a rail yard between the riverfront area and Produce Row and extension of the electric trolley system to the riverfront area.

Harvel and Hughes said marketing of the corporate site would include sending information to site location consultants, placing info on websites that promote available buildings and land and direct meetings with state economic development officials and site location consultants.

Hughes also stressed the need for water and sewer infrastructure to be extended to the properties. To extend water and sewer from B Street to H Street along Riverfront Drive would cost about $350,000, said City Administrator Ray Gosack. A grant of up to $250,000 is available for that work, which could begin in 4-6 months. Work from H Street north to P Street would cost about $1.1 million, with that work ready to begin in about 18 months, Gosack said.

City Director Kevin Settle requested the city move forward as soon as possible with the infrastructure work, saying the city should be ready in case Harvel “gets someone tomorrow” to locate in the area. Settle also said the city should move more aggressively on truck re-routing ideas in the downtown-riverfront area, and on working with Fort Smith Railroad to relocate their yard that is now located near Miss Laura’s Visitor Center.

All other members of the board agreed, meaning the city staff will move forward and bring necessary actions and agreements to the board during a regular board meeting.