Tuesday was the North Little Rock Greyhound bus station's last stand and for some North Little Rock officials hopefully the start of a new era.
Plans are underway for demolishing it in the next few weeks. The former bus station has become one of several properties along a stretch of downtown, between East Broadway and Riverfront Drive, that the city will try to sell to developers.
Tonight, the North Little Rock City Council will again try to come to an agreement with a developer to sell a parking lot at 200 E. Second St., adjacent to the Greyhound Station, for $1.1 million. At its last meeting, the council balked at approving the sale of the lot to Conway developer Nabholz Properties because of concerns that plans to build a mixed-use development were not detailed enough.
Last week, Ward 3 Council Member Ron Harris told developer Greg Nabholz "I don't see any proof of concept," for his plan to build a mixed-use development on the site.
"Show me something that I can kind of sink my teeth into and show to my citizens," Harris said.
Members of the City Council said they did not want the developer to purchase the property and sit on it but rather immediately begin construction. North Little Rock Mayor Terry Hartwick said he believes the council will approve the sale at its upcoming session today.
The city-owned parking lot, the soon-to-be-demolished bus station and the City Services building are all destined to be sold off and developed if the mayor gets his way. All three properties are located near the riverfront, close to Simmons Bank Arena, making it prime real estate for development, Hartwick said.
"I feel very sure that the area is going to get a lot of development," Hartwick said. "I mean, if I was in the business and I knew I had Simmons [Bank] Arena across from me there and possibly had a conference center coming, I'd be looking at it."
Last June, the city purchased the Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield building in Mid-City, with plans to move workers from the City Services Building that is located at 120 N. Main St.
For years the city has desired a convention center that would help it compete with its neighbor across the Arkansas River. North Little Rock does have some convention spaces -- the Wyndham Hotel, Simmons Bank Arena and the North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce -- but often the spaces are not big enough or are too expensive for many looking to host conferences.
"The Wyndham may be booked and if we're booked, we're losing business to people across the river and to potential businesses going to Saline County with the Benton Conference Center as well," said North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce President and Chief Executive Officer Derrell Hartwick.
Last year, the city bought the bus station from Greyhound for $665,000 with plans to eventually demolish it and sell the property to a developer.
The city agreed to lease the property back to Greyhound for one year, but that lease has now expired. Now, the Greyhound's new terminal will be located at Love's Travel Stop off of Interstate-40.
"I think it's been a hindrance to some extent about development down there," Hartwick said of the bus station.