ATA International Breaks Ground For New World Headquarters In Little Rock
by June 24, 2015 10:39 am 226 views
Officials with an organization teaching the discipline of taekwondo broke ground Wednesday on their new headquarters in Little Rock.
The group, ATA International (ATA), will have its new facility at 1800 Riverfront Drive in Little Rock and is inspired by traditional Korean architecture.
The group has 300,000 active members, is the premier martial arts group in North America and sanctions over 300 tournaments around the world each year.
The groundbreaking also drew the support of Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
“It’s great for Arkansas any time we can attract a world headquarters,” Hutchinson said. “The fact that ATA International has decided to call Little Rock home is another example of the incredible quality of life our state has to offer, not to mention the many attractions for businesses and our strong economic climate for growth.”
The new 45,300 square feet ATA World headquarters will be built on a more than three-acre site.
The new facility will include several water features, in which water will flow from one another and symbolize the passing of knowledge from instructor to student.
The centerpiece of the World Headquarters is the Songahm Star in the plaza garden, which will be the entrance to the complex and is the central axis that organizes the site.
Another important aspect of the new World Headquarters will be the museum, which will provide a first-class experience to tell the story of Eternal Grand Master H.U. Lee and the history of the ATA.
“We’re excited to move our new World Headquarters into the heart of the Riverdale area. The new facility allows us to better serve our licensed school owners and will be a reflection of ATA’s focus, which is providing students the highest quality martial arts instruction available that people of all ages can enjoy,” Ed Wright, chief executive officer of ATA International, said. “ATA is an inspiring organization and our new World Headquarters will reflect on both the past and future aspects of our business.”
ATA is partnering with Nabholz Construction, to build the new headquarters, which was designed by Wittenberg, Delony & Davidson Architects.
The new facility is scheduled to be completed by Aug. 2016.