Fort Smith Development Has Turned The Corner

Call them the bookends. Garrison Avenue on the west and Chaffee Crossing on the east. Though the two are seemingly worlds apart, in tandem they anchor the economic recovery, and, indeed, the anticipated transformation that could end up defining Fort Smith for years to come.

Land sales at Chaffee Crossing have been brisk, with 10 closings just this year. Retail, manufacturing, corporate, housing and education — a wide array of endeavors have found a place at Chaffee Crossing. And since 2000, more than $400 million in industrial capital investments have been made there.

At least two new subdivisions, with one featuring million-dollar homes, are in the works at Chaffee. And at Fort Smith Regional Airport, a nine-lot commercial plaza and hotel are in the offing.

For a city that appeared to have been knocked out by the acrimonious departure of Whirlpool in 2012, which resulted in the loss of 900 jobs, Fort Smith seems to be doing well.

“We were sucker punched, but we didn’t stop,” said Tim Allen, president and CEO of the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce. “I think we’ve turned the corner. The reset button has been hit.”

Allen, who assumed the chamber’s leadership role in 2013, said Fort Smith is set to make another big economic development announcement soon, but declined to mention details.

As the buildout continues at Chaffee, so does the effort to bring a “cool factor” to Garrison, Allen said. Whether that happens remains to be seen, but in the buildup to the opening of the U.S. Marshals Museum on the banks of the Arkansas River, an earnest effort is being made to do just that.

Investors are feasting on Fort Smith’s large stock of monumental downtown architecture, and over the last few years, savvy property owners have sunk millions into renovations and restorations, opening the door for quality of life developments.

Landmark structures like the Masonic Temple, the Friedman-Mincer building, the Goins Furniture building, the 400 block of Garrison, and others, have either been renovated, are under renovation, or will be renovated soon.

And later this year, the Festival of Murals, planned as a multi-year effort to distinguish Fort Smith as the largest outdoor art gallery in the state, begins.

The downtown calling cards are restaurant, retail and residential, important ingredients for urban living.

In a stubborn city of front porches and fenced back yards, that’s not the easiest sell. But if Fort Smith is going to survive, and even flourish, a new mindset has to develop.

Allen, who came to Fort Smith from Little Rock, is aware of the issue and embraces it.

“My biggest challenge has been to get Fort Smith out of itself, to get Fort Smith to think differently,” he said.

 

Weathering the Storm

From her vantage point, senior planner Brenda Andrews has an excellent view of what’s going on in Fort Smith. While she said overall activity is not necessarily robust, big items are starting to appear in front of the planning department again.

She said at least some of the more important projects are directly attributable to the upcoming arrival of the $40 million ArcBest expansion, and the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine, which recently pulled a $22 million permit for the school’s steel framing.

In particular, Andrews referenced Barling-based ERC Properties, a builder of single-family and multifamily homes, which is shopping two Wells Lake Road subdivisions, one on 55 acres and another on 20 acres. ERC also recently had the south side Park Meadow subdivision plat reauthorized for phases two, three and four.

If there’s an indication the Fort Smith real estate market is rebounding, three new subdivisions is it.

“In the last five years it’s been slow,” Andrews said. “This represents a very positive note.”

Not far from Chaffee is the regional airport, where a developer wants to build a nine-lot, 23.3-acre commercial subdivision with a hotel on Phoenix Avenue. The preliminary plat was prepared by Fort Smith engineering firm Mickle Wagner Coleman Inc.

“It’s an indicator people are flying into Fort Smith,” Andrews said. “If they want to build a hotel, they have clearly done their homework.”

Another development is the construction of new retail stores. Dollar General has recently built four outlets and was approved for a fifth. And Burlington Coat Factory, the off-price apparel and home products retailer, recently pulled a $3.8 million permit for its store in the 5700 block of Rogers Avenue.

Andrews describes the building activity as steady, not spectacular. Steady, of course, might be enough to win the race.

“Fort Smith has had its share of hard knocks, but we are weathering the storm,” Andrews said.

 

A New Canvass

From the large windows of his corner office at the Friedman-Mincer building, Steve Clark, founder of Propak Logistics, can see all the way down Garrison Avenue.

It’s a view many thought had vanished. With a collapsed roof and rotting interior, Friedman-Mincer was on the brink of destruction. But Clark bought the 24,000-SF building for $135,000 in 2013, and if all goes to plan, the $2.5 million renovation will be complete by September.

“I hope this sends a message we’re not going anywhere,” Clark said, referring not just to Propak but to Fort Smith in general. “The city has good bones, and we have to redefine who we’re going to be.” 

The 1911 building will feature high ceilings, exposed brick, open light and plenty of glass. Once finished, Propak’s executive team and support staff, about 50 in all, will populate the building.

Though a lot of work has already been done on the Garrison Avenue corridor, none is perhaps as important as the restoration of Friedman-Mincer. Fort Smith’s version of the Flatiron Building in New York, it sits at the gateway to the old city.

“I think what you’re seeing are a group of people in Fort Smith who are saying, ‘OK, we have to own our situation,’” Clark said. “This has to become the canvas we paint or future on.”

A member of the group Clark mentioned is Rodney Ghan, a principal with R.H. Ghan & Cooper Commercial Properties, the largest commercial real estate firm in Fort Smith.

Ghan not only serves as a broker for other people’s property, he buys and develops his own. And these days, he’s busy in the urban core. He just finished 822 Garrison, is working on 14-16 S. 9th St., and has plans for 923 Rogers, the old Goins Furniture building.

Ghan focuses on retail and residential, and as proof of his commitment to downtown, plans to live in one of the lofts now under renovation.

“We’re trying to create walkability downtown,” Ghan said. “Within 10 years, it will be a totally different downtown. It’s like everything else: you have to get people to live there.”

Another future draw is the Masonic Temple on 11th Street. It was purchased in November for $325,000 by Lance Beaty. The colossal stone and concrete building has a 1,000-seat auditorium and a kitchen that can feed up to 400 people. Beaty is expected to spend as much as $7 million on the rehab.

As historic preservation continues, the nucleus of an entertainment district and a calendar of events are taking shape near the river.

Bricktown Brewery out of Oklahoma City came to Fort Smith last year, and Core Brewing and Distilling of Springdale is expected to open a tap room in the near future. Add to that live music and restaurants like R. Landry’s New Orleans Cafe, Harry’s Hamburger Barn and La Huerta Mexican Grill, and the building blocks are in place.

While renovation can be expensive, the buy-in price in the downtown Fort Smith market is still affordable, Ghan said. For example, the Ward Garrison building, at 11 stories the tallest in Fort Smith, would probably sell for less than $2 million.

“It can be bought,” Ghan said. “It’s an opportunity for someone.”

With such a large inventory of buildings along Garrison and Rogers, there’s plenty to be had for investors looking for a deal. But what Ghan doesn’t want to see are buyers who enter the market without a real plan of action.

“There are investors who buy them and sit on them and let them deteriorate,” Ghan said. “That’s not what we need.”