Downtown Little Rock's old Sterling department store will house a second location of Mylo Coffee Co. and a Crossfit-branded gym, Crossfit Composure, when the owners/developers execute the first phase of renovation this year.
They expect that when the building is completely renovated, they will have invested more than six times the $475,000 they paid for the three-story building in the summer. Sterling Development Group LLC -- Jordan and June Haas, Dan and Melodi Jones and Dr. Mike and Akemi Bauer -- closed Wednesday on a construction loan for the first round of renovations, which includes refurbishing the exterior of the vacant structure at 229 W. Capitol Ave.
Jordan Haas, 29, has had a real estate license since age 18 and is managing partner of Sterling Development Group LLC; Dan Jones has his own general contracting and energy consulting firm, Capitol Engineering PLC; and Dr. Mike Bauer is an assistant professor of bioinformatics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
The Sterling building has about 12,300 square feet on each floor. Debris from gutting the first floor of the interior, Jones said, filled seven 30-yard dumpsters. Crossfit Composure will occupy about 4,000 square feet, and the coffee shop will have about 2,000 square feet, leaving room for other tenants on the ground floor. The gym is aiming for a February opening, and the coffee shop is expected to follow this summer.
Mylo Coffee Co. owner Stephanos Mylonas said the interior of the coffee shop will be different than its original location on Kavanaugh Boulevard because the structure is different.
"Pretty much the only reason we visited the Sterling building was because it had those historic elements, and it needed attention," Mylonas said. "It will become something stunning in the center of Little Rock."
The Haases, Dan Jones and Danny Brickey -- Jordan Haas' colleague -- closed last week on an adjacent Center City property, which they renamed the Charles Thompson Building after the famed Little Rock architect. Jerky's Spicy Chicken and More, owned by John Walker Jr., is relocating from South Arch Street to the Thompson building, which is at the corner of Sixth and Center streets. Jerky's fare is expected to complement that of fellow tenants EJ's Eats & Drinks and Lulav Modern Eatery.
Few, a business that designs and builds Web and mobile applications, is adding to the 2,000 square feet it occupies upstairs.
The 20,300-square-foot building was called the Mathis building, after a previous owner.
Christy Miners, co-owner of EJ's, said Wednesday that the classic American food restaurant is staying put. She and her husband, Jim, moved EJ's from Hillcrest to downtown almost a decade ago and said an increase in business over the past year pushed them to stay open later and to open on weekends.
The face-lift underway on Main Street has had a ripple effect throughout the downtown area, Miners said.
"Some of these other areas are growing by leaps and bounds, just not under the same looking glass that Main Street is," she said.
EJ's Group, which also includes Glenda Tarpley, is also an owner in the Thompson building.
This is the first business venture for Crossfit Composure owner Adam Funmaker, who quit his teaching and coaching job at Maumelle High School to go into business. Several partners in both buildings left secure, full-time employment to venture into development.
Business on 01/15/2015