FORT SMITH -- The Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority enjoyed what Director Ivy Owen described as a "momentous occasion" Monday.
The plan to transform World War II-era warehouses into a new home for businesses and restaurants is underway.
Diades Investment LLC, led by engineer Scott Archer, kicked off construction on a $3 million project to renovate five of the 15 warehouses located in the Fort Chaffee Historic District, turning them into restaurants and other commercial and retail space.
The 45,000-square-foot row will become home to Diades Investments' HSA Engineering and a pizzeria called Sgt. Pepper's Restaurant. The Morgan Nick Foundation, currently based in Alma, also revealed Monday it has decided to move its headquarters into the warehouse space.
"This is something we've been dreaming about for years," Owen said. "There were many days I would sit in my office and think that this never would happen and maybe these buildings would be torn down. But not anymore. The Chaffee Crossing Historic District now is alive and well."
The Warehouses, located at 7701 Ellis St. in the historic district, is part of a planned zone district inside Chaffee Crossing, the 7,000 acres of mixed-use land in Fort Smith and Barling. The authority believes the area can become an urban, walkable district with restaurants and businesses.
There weren't any real plans to preserve the warehouses originally. Owen said the redevelopment authority was focused on the nearby World War II-era barracks as the emphasis for attracting entrepreneurs and investors. But when the organization decided to save the barracks, Owen said they saved everything else.
"I had a vision for this," Owen said. "It was just a question of, as we developed around this, that other people besides me would get that vision and see something other than an old World War II warehouse."
Archer said he and his wife initially were shopping for space to open a pizzeria and brewery when they toured the warehouse district and decided on the spot. Archer said one of his partners noticed the renderings for the restaurant and suggested that HSA Engineering, which was considering expanding its current office, should move there as well.
It wasn't long before HSA Engineering became the anchor of the project. Like Owen and the Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority, Archer said he is confident the warehouses and the historic district can become an attractive destination in Fort Smith.
"If we can make this kind of a restaurant, kind of a hip area where you can get out of your car and walk around, it would be really nice," Archer said. "We can add something to Fort Smith to give it a little flavor to make people want to come here."
Renovating an entire row of warehouses is the biggest project to date, but Archer and his partners at Diades Investments -- Rob May, Trey White and Nathan Wilson -- aren't the first to set up plans in the Warehouse District.
Old Fort Furniture company already occupies about 9,000 square feet of warehouse space, which includes a 5,000-square-foot showroom. Quentin Willard, who attended the construction kickoff ceremony Monday, also is building Fort Smith Brewing Co. in the district. Owen said the redevelopment authority has recently sold three other warehouses, as well.
"There's strength in numbers," Archer said. "It makes me feel better about what we're trying to do."
Business on 05/02/2017