A corner turned

Acrowd of several hundred people gathered on the top floor of the Exchange Street Parking Plaza in Hot Springs on a warm Thursday night last week for the release of a long-awaited development plan for the city’s downtown. The event came just two days after the front page of this newspaper’s Business & Farm section reported that Harrison Construction Co. had taken out a building permit valued at almost $5.7 million for work on the Thompson Building, which is across Central Avenue from Bathhouse Row.

The five-story building, built in 1913, will be transformed into a 62-room boutique hotel. Business partners Bob Kempkes, Anthony Taylor and Robert Zunick purchased it and the adjacent 1904 Dugan-Stuart Building last year for $2.5 million. The Thompson Building was designed by noted architect George Mann, who also designed the state Capitol in Little Rock more than a century ago.

Taylor and Kempkes are architects who focus on historic restoration efforts. Taylor said of the planned hotel: “It’s going to be something that hasn’t been seen in downtown Hot Springs in a long time. The whole idea that there are buildings available for purchase for restoration and renovation is just a different game than the city’s had going in the past 25 years.”

On Friday, the Sentinel-Record at Hot Springs reported that Tennessee real estate developer Gary Gibbs has closed on the purchase of the Austin Convention Hotel & Spa, a facility connected to the Hot Springs Convention Center that’s in need of tender loving care. Gibbs said he hopes to renovate the hotel during the next year.

Following decades of decline, something is happening in downtown Hot Springs: Economic development momentum. The February 2014 fire that destroyed the oldest portion of the building that once housed the Majestic Hotel galvanized public opinion around the need to focus on downtown. It also opened eyes to the fact that the historic buildings are a national treasure in danger of being lost due to years of neglect. The city of Hot Springs, the Hot Springs Metro Partnership and the West Central Arkansas Planning & Development District teamed up to hire economic development consulting firm Thomas P. Miller & Associates of Indianapolis to write the redevelopment plan.

“Hot Springs is fundamentally different from other cities looking to offer the benefits of a 21st century economy,” the plan states. “The downtown boasts an entrance to a national park, a defining attribute that’s unique among all other cities in the United States. Pairing the natural beauty of Hot Springs National Park with a modern, vibrant downtown will make the city a destination for those looking for a place to explore on vacation, start a business, advance a career or retire.”

One focus of the plan is the redevelopment of the Majestic Hotel site at the north end of Central Avenue. The report notes that “due to its size, location and prominence, the future of this site will set the tone for redevelopment activities throughout downtown, serve as a catalyst for additional public and private investment and present an opportunity to build on the impact of the tourism sector, which is of importance to the economic prosperity of downtown Hot Springs.” The city’s business and civic leadership appear to be coalescing around a plan that would see the remaining buildings on the site removed and replaced by a performing arts center, outdoor amphitheater and outdoor public bathing facility that would take advantage of the hot springs for which the town is named. Voter approval of a temporary sales tax to fund a bond issue likely will be necessary. Such a public investment could pay huge dividends for the rest of the city in the decades ahead.

Another recommendation is to remove about 70 parallel parking places along Central Avenue and replace them with bike paths to make the shops, restaurants and other attractions more visible to those driving through downtown. In addition to proper redevelopment of the Majestic site, the other key to downtown Hot Springs achieving its full potential is the revitalization of the upper floors of downtown buildings, most of which are empty. The report says that “millennials and empty nesters are interested in dense, walkable urban neighborhoods, creative spaces and smaller-scale urban living. Millennials are favoring culture, sense of place and design over the commitment of homeownership and large-scale housing developments. … In order to progress as a 24-hour downtown, upper-floor revitalization is crucial.”

There are only 15 upper-floor residential units downtown. The report states: “In order to truly capture the young professional and empty nester audiences that are reverting to urban lifestyles, downtown must create a product to serve those demographics. In addition to the opportunity to grow downtown residential use, downtown Hot Springs is positioned to grow its base of professional employees working in the district, occupying office space and patronizing local businesses.” The report goes on to describe the more than 150,000 square feet of vacant space downtown as “not only a missed opportunity for reinvestment and new tenants” but also something that gives the appearance to visitors of a city in decline.

Absentee landlords who care little about their properties long have been a problem. Since the fire, pressure has increased on them to act. Finally, downtown Hot Springs may have turned the corner.