Expert: Won’t select any of 3 tech-park sites

LITTLE ROCK — A consultant hired to help choose potential sites for the proposed Little Rock Technology Park wrote in a letter released Monday that he would not select any of the remaining sites.

Consultant Charles Dilks, considered an expert in technology and research parks, had previously expressed concern over the three remaining sites under consideration for the technology park. But the letter written last week directly tells the Little Rock Technology Park Authority Board to find a different site.

“The Engineer’s Report speaks for itself,” Dilks writes in the letter.

“Taken in addition to my comments made in my letters dated September 28, 2012 and January 2, 2013, the [three] remaining sites are questionable at best for the development of the proposed park. Accordingly, I recommend looking for a more appropriate development site.”

The three sites still on the table for the park’s location are:

About 10 acres between Collins and College streets and East Sixth and East Eighth streets.

About 35 undeveloped acres near John Barrow Road and Interstate 630.

About 84 acres consisting of several parcels at South University and Asher avenues.

Technology Park Board member Jay Chesshir, also the chief executive officer of the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, said the board has taken Dilks’ previous cautions into consideration but that he was unsure what would happen as a result of his most recent letter.

“The consultant was hired for his expertise, and ultimately the board will make the decision. But, just as we sought input from the public, from various stakeholders, the information from Mr. Dilks will be one piece of many things that the board considers.”

The technology park is a partnership among the city of Little Rock, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, the University of Arkansas for the Medical Sciences and Arkansas Children’s Hospital. The goal for the park is to attract both private companies and public investment to develop the research happening at the city’s educational and medical institutions.

All of the partners agreed to pay about $125,000 in seed money to develop the park, and the city also agreed to pay $22 million in sales-tax money to eventually help construct the park.

The technology park’s seven-member board is made up of two representatives from UALR, two from UAMS, two chosen by the Little Rock mayor and Chesshir as a representative of the chamber. The Technology Park Board operates apart from those entities, however, meaning none of the partners gets final approval on board decisions.

Earlier in the process, the Little Rock Board of Directors pushed the Technology Park Board to start over in a second search, implying that the city’s $22 million contribution could be leveraged or withheld if a residential site was chosen. The park board had previously been considering three largely residential sites in the Fair Park and Forest Hills neighborhoods.

The park board then embarked on a second search, resulting in 23 commercial sites being whittled to the current three finalists.

“I don’t think Mr. Dilks is saying anything new in this letter. He’s expressed cautions in his previous correspondence with us,” board member Dickson Flake said Monday. “I see nothing accomplished by wiping the slate clean. I think we can continue to look for alternatives while moving forward with consideration of these sites.”

Technology Park Board Chairman Mary Good agreed, saying the crux of the board’s discussion at its meeting Wednesday will focus on reviewing the engineering studies.

The study synopsis released Monday included possible layouts for the park at each site, including what streets would have to be blocked off, entrances and possible water features.

On the downtown site, the report suggested excluding the use of the historic Woodruff House in its design and noted that the site would require $1.31 million in demolition costs.

The report also noted that the two phases of the Asher Avenue site would require about $1.75 million in demolition costs and that the John Barrow Road site would require permission from the Little Rock Planning Commission to increase the allowable height of the buildings on site.

Several city directors said Monday that they were uncomfortable with the idea of starting a third search for property, saying that despite the concerns raised at each site, the Technology Park Board has not found reasons that completely discount all three sites.

“In hearing Mr. Dilks’ letter, he doesn’t say why any of them would be impossible,” at-large City Director Joan Adcock said. “Nobody finds a perfect piece of property. They have to do work to get exactly what they want. I think the board should stick with this and make a selection from these three sites.”

Ward 6 City Director Doris Wright has been an active advocate of the John Barrow Road site. She said Monday that she and the rest of the directors would not support any residential alternatives.

“That’s a promise I made and so did my colleagues,” she said. “This process has gone on long enough. I think if anybody had better property to offer, they would have spoken up by now.”

The Technology Park Board will meet Wednesday at 4 p.m. at the UALR Bailey Alumni Center on 28th Street.