Historic Sites Changing Hands in Fort Smith
by July 7, 2014 12:00 am 101 views
Downtown redevelopment continues in Fort Smith. Prolonging a decade-long trend, historic buildings are still selling to owners who plan to renovate the structures for modern use.
The latest is the Masonic Temple building at 200 N. 11th St., which is under contract by Fiery Moon Global LLC, a regional and statewide media and event company. Fiery Global, headed by president Dan Robinson, intends on housing its production, distribution, content management, talent management and all ancillary operations in the temple.
“We are ecstatic to have found an existing site which will support our vertically integrated media and live event organization with all departments housed in one location,” Robinson said.
Robinson is being assisted in the temple project by consultants Fritz Gisler and LeaLea Van Winkle-Gisler.
Fiery Global is in negotiations to buy the property from the Western Arkansas Scottish Rite Bodies and could close by August. The three-story Art Deco building was completed in 1929. Fiery Global plans a full restoration within three years.
Closer to the Arkansas River at 318 Garrison Ave., the Adelaide Hall building is under contract with the Bricktown Brewery of Oklahoma City, which plans to sink as much as $750,000 into a remodel of the building that currently houses the Varsity Sports Grill and Adelaide Hall.
Both the Masonic Temple and Adelaide Hall are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
“We’ve had constant investment of about $8 million a year — public and private — in downtown, and we’re on-track to do that again this year,” said downtown development coordinator Jayne Hughes. “But there’s always more to be done.”