SoMa is a district known for its creativity more than its capital investment, for making the old new.
But Charles Stewart has announced a brand-new $2 million apartment complex for the district in Little Rock, which is short for Southside Main Street.
The South Village at Quapaw Apartments is a 16-unit gated development under construction at 1301 Louisiana St., with completion expected in early 2015.
"I think this is the first in many years to be built from the ground up," said Stewart, a retired banker. "Several have been remodeled in the area lately."
The primary "remodeler" is Anita Davis.
She owns four buildings on Main in the district, which house a number of businesses, including Boulevard Bread Co. and the Green Corner Store, as well as the Esse Purse Museum.
"I've been there 10 years and spent a whole lot of money," Davis said. "We're thrilled to death" to have Stewart's project.
Sharon Priest, executive director of the Downtown Little Rock Partnership, said that the apartment complex will help the effort to bridge the redevelopment gap created by Interstate 630.
Redevelopers have invested $74.5 million in the past few years along Main Street north of I-630. That's in part because of the scale of the buildings on that part of Main, with old department stores and one of the city's first skyscrapers, Priest said.
Just off Main Street between 12th and 17th streets is primarily historical homes, and the commercial buildings there reflect the residential nature of the area, Priest said.
Yet, while the scale may be different, money talks, she said. Stewart's investment will encourage others to do the same.
"I think it will become a momentum issue," Priest said.
Stewart is complimentary of the SoMa pioneers.
He said he studied the area, and the "mix of people ... is a great statement about urban living. Certainly the leadership of Anita Davis in the region with what she invested with Bernice Garden and that whole section between 14th and 17th [makes for] an exciting time in the area."
"It's still a neighborhood," Stewart said. "It has the feeling of a neighborhood ... that is historic and eclectic."
South Village Apartments at Quapaw will have 12 two-bedroom units with two bathrooms and four one-bedroom, one-bath units and on-site, secured parking. Stewart hasn't set the monthly rent for the units.
Business on 07/08/2014