Vote lets Little Rock port work on wetlands

A vote by the Little Rock Port Authority board of directors Wednesday will make some of the land owned by the city's port more marketable to heavy manufacturing prospects, according to the port's executive director.

The vote allows the Port of Little Rock's chief executive, Bryan Day, to spend up to $210,000 to acquire wetland and stream mitigation credits on an undeveloped 55-acre tract along Zuber Road.

The amount of credits, which are units of trade used to offset losses of environmentally sensitive wetlands and streams because of development, will be determined by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Day said.

Mitigating any wetlands on the property will allow the port to clear the site and make it "shovel ready" for industrial prospects needing land that they can quickly develop. The site already provides access to rail and utilities, such as water, natural gas and electricity, according to Day.

If a company wanted the land now, it would take as long as nine months to determine whether the site needs wetland and stream credits and, if so, how much, he said. Companies don't want to wait that long, Day said.

"Until we mitigate the wetlands, until we improve the land, it will be a hard sell," he said.

In addition to clearing the site, the port will eventually have to make improvements to Zuber Road so it can handle heavy truck traffic.

The board specifically authorized Day to enter into a contract with Applied Land Restoration LLC in an amount not to exceed $210,000 to purchase stream and wetland mitigation credits.

Applied owns the Fourche Bayou Mitigation Bank, more than 75 acres a few miles south of the port and along the river. By purchasing the credits, the port ensures conversion of the bank land into wetlands.

The move will allow Day to officially work with the Corps to determine whether credits are required. The site contains about 9 acres of wetlands, but if the Corps determines the wetlands are isolated, the credits won't be needed, Day said.

Developed sites ready for heavy manufacturing, particularly with access to rail, are hard to come by in central Arkansas. The port might have the only one in the region, according to Day. That 155-acre tract is already shovel-ready.

Making the Zuber Road tract shovel-ready also will make it more valuable and recoup the investment the port has made in the land, Day said. The port purchased the property in 2015 for $300,000. With mitigation and development, the port would have to invest another $300,000, for a total investment value of about $11,000 an acre.

A similar-size property in the area of the port recently sold for $32,000 an acre, Day said. He doesn't want to sell, he wants to attract industry.

"If we're going to chase prospects around the world, I need product to offer," he said.

Business on 04/19/2018

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