Date of land sale postponed again
The North Little Rock City Council voted Monday to extend the closing date on the sale of 18.85 acres the city owns on Young Road just off Crystal Hill Road near the Interstate 430 interchange.
JEL Land Acquisition LLC, the buyer, requested an extension to Feb. 29 because of disputes and to complete documents related to the $754,000 purchase, according to the resolution.
It's the third extension of the agreement's closing date. The second extension was to expire Friday.
The City Council voted 8-0 without discussion.
The land is to be developed into an apartment complex with more than 400 units planned. Young Road is within the NorthShore Business Park, which also contains Crystal Hill Elementary School.
Gene Pfeifer, developer of the business park, filed a lawsuit in May, which is pending, to challenge the City Council's approval of a road alignment change for a second entrance and exit for the business park. City aldermen approved the original alignment to the city's Master Street Plan in January 2014 but voted in March to alter the alignment to accommodate the apartment complex plans.
The road would extend Young Road to Crystal Hill Road near the I-430 interchange that also serves Maumelle Boulevard.
Financing awaited for riverfront land
A contingency period for plans to possibly develop 5.8 acres at 632 W. Riverfront Drive just west of Dickey-Stephens Park is being extended until June 19, the City Council decided Monday.
A year ago, the City Council approved the proposed sale of the city-owned property to H3RE LLC, headed by J. Fletcher Hanson III, chief executive officer of Newmark Grubb Arkansas, allowing him to put together a partnership to develop the property. The sale price would be $2.53 million under what was termed as "an option to buy."
The original contingency period, which was to allow the buyer to obtain financing, ended Dec. 22. The 2014 agreement included options for two six-month extensions.
Aldermen voted 8-0 without discussion Monday for the extension.
The city has listed the riverfront property for sale for 10 years and completed the relocation of power lines from the property in 2011.
The property now is being used as a staging area for the removal and reconstruction of the Broadway Bridge, which spans the Arkansas River between North Little Rock and Little Rock.
New library hours to start this week
Expanded hours begin Monday at the William F. Laman Public Library and its Argenta Branch in North Little Rock.
Library patrons will be able to use the main library, 2801 Orange St., for two additional hours Mondays-Thursdays and, at the Argenta Branch, 420 Main St., have an extra hour during weekdays and four hours on Saturdays.
New hours at the main library will be 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday and remain 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday-Saturday. The Argenta Branch hours will be 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday. The Argenta Branch had been closed on Saturdays. Both libraries will remain closed on Sundays.
The library system cut back its hours starting Dec. 1, 2014, because of financial problems that led to layoffs and program reductions.
Metro on 01/03/2016