Griffin Properties Planning $3M Project In Downtown Fort Smith

The owner of several buildings in downtown Fort Smith is nearing the start of a redevelopment project that will result in a mixed-use building in the 400 block of Garrison Avenue.

Griffin Properties, a Fort Smith-based construction and real estate development company, recently released plans for extensive interior and exterior renovations of buildings at 401, 403, 405, 407, 409 and 411 Garrison Ave., which will result in the Garrison Pointe West complex.

The family-owned company owns the buildings through its Griffin Properties of Fort Smith LLC entity. Construction should begin in about three months, said Rick Griffin, a principal of the company along with his father, company founder Richard Griffin.

Griffin Properties is licensed in 15 states, and specializes in nursing home construction. It has current projects in development in five states.

The Griffin family has been acquiring real estate in Fort Smith for three decades, and is an active property redeveloper “for fun,” Rick Griffin said.

“We love Fort Smith,” he said. “This will preserve the appearance of historic downtown and renovate space that is in desperate need of it. The Central Business Improvement District here has a motto of ‘Live, Work, Play.’ This project meets all three of those litmus tests.”

Fort Smith architect Scott Branton is designing the project, which will include about 5,300 SF of commercial/retail space on the first floor.

An open-air event venue named The Breezeway will occupy the first floor of the 407 Garrison building.

The remaining space on the second floor will be converted into 12 upscale apartments, with either one- or two-bedroom floor plans.

The development is expected to be complete by June 2014. Construction costs will be more than $3 million.