Deltic Timber Corp. will spend $8 million over the next year to expand Rahling Road in west Little Rock, Ray Dillon, chief executive officer of the El Dorado firm, said Friday.
Rahling Road will be widened by two lanes from the end of the divided street to Hinson Road to handle an increase in traffic between Chenal Parkway and Arkansas 10.
Deltic already has begun work on the project with the removal of acres of trees on a hill near the Rahling Road intersection with Pebble Beach Drive. Deltic will use dirt from the hillside as fill for the street expansion, Dillon said.
By using the on-site dirt, there won't be a need for any dirt to be hauled to or away from the site, said Tim Daters, the principal engineer with White-Daters & Associates of Little Rock, which is working with Deltic.
The $8 million investment will bring to $17 million what Deltic and other property owners have spent on Rahling Road. Since 1989, Deltic has invested more than $75 million in public infrastructure in Chenal Valley, the firm said.
"[The widening] goes back to the commitment we made to the city of Little Rock [20 years ago] and the fulfillment of that commitment," Dillon said.
Deltic expects more projects, such as single-family, multifamily and retail-office projects, will be considered by developers after work on Rahling Road is finished in about a year, Dillon said at a groundbreaking.
Deltic has received zoning for such projects, but has had no active discussions with developers, Dillon said. The reason is the company wants to complete construction on Rahling Road, he said.
"It's much easier for the developer to understand once they see where the entrances are," Dillon said. "Deltic develops the land but then we market the land to the vertical developers -- residential homebuilders and commercial real estate developers who build [the projects]."
The new residential construction will be near the tree line above the dirt work, Daters said. There will be one multifamily project near the Village at Rahling Road apartments, Dillon said.
The office-retail space will depend on the need, Dillon said.
"There could be a series of office sites or there could be a couple of large office sites," Dillon said.
There is no timetable or cost estimate for any of the projects, Dillon said.
"It depends on how the economy improves and then as the need arises," Dillon said.
Since development activities in west Little Rock began in Chenal Valley in 1986, 2,846 lots have been developed in 35 neighborhoods with about 2,568 homes constructed or under construction, Deltic said in its Form 10-K annual federal filing. When fully developed, Chenal Valley could have about 4,600 single-family residences, the filing said.
Business on 04/18/2015