A property owner looking to create more parking spaces for employees in Little Rock’s bustling River Market District plans to build a two-story parking garage in the area.
The project would replace the current surface parking lot between Big Whiskey’s American Bar and Grill and Iriana’s Pizza on Markham Street.
John Chandler with H West LLC, which owns the lot, said he plans to build the parking garage to provide employees in neighboring buildings with more parking spots. He would not disclose how much the project would cost.
“It’s in an effort to get all the people in our buildings to park on-site and then to offer evening parking to the public,” Chandler said. H West owns the building that houses Iriana’s Pizza as well as others. “It should be a very good thing for the city.”
He said details of the plans are preliminary as construction has been delayed for a month, but it is expected to have about 140 parking spots and a green area that would include outside dining areas for the adjacent restaurants.
“The actual parking deck looks really nice,” said a tenant in one of the neighboring buildings who has viewed the plans. The tenant requested to remain anonymous because she wasn’t sure what information about the project was public.
Tony Bozynski, director of Little Rock Planning and Development, said before the project moves forward, the owner of the parking lot needs to file for a variance with the city Board of Adjustment because though there is an abandoned alley near the property, sewer easements were retained. He said the board could approve or deny the filing.
The need for more parking has become an issue for the area as restaurants keep popping up and the Central Arkansas Library System plans to build a movie theater, said Bobby Roberts, director of the library system.
Roberts said library officials are trying to find more parking for patrons who visit during peak hours and for the public at night.
The library system is working to improve traffic flow in its parking lot by reserving spaces for library visitors by increasing some rates, he said.
The library system also has partnered with city officials to consider building a parking garage between Cumberland Street and the First Security Amphitheatre. The project would replace surface parking and create 400 parking spaces.
There has been opposition to the project because of the potential effect to Riverfront Park, access to the bicycle trails and the view of the river.
“I think it can be done back there, but it needs to be carefully done so it doesn’t interfere with the park,” Roberts said.
He said there are no updates on the plans for the Riverfront Park parking garage and that it would be some time before plans are put into motion, if at all.
Roberts said developing a parking garage between Big Whiskey’s and Iriana’s is not likely to provide any relief for the library system’s parking problems.
But it would likely improve parking in the district, said Jimmy Moses, of Moses Tucker Real Estate.
“It may generally help the overall needs for the neighborhood,” he said.
Business, Pages 31 on 10/19/2013