Bale Chevrolet is part of a petition filed Monday with the city of Little Rock to move the auto dealership from its longtime facility on Chenal Parkway to a 33-acre new development at Interstate 430 and Cantrell Road.
The proposal was filed with the Little Rock Planning and Development Department, which must approve the request seeking to rezone the residential area and convert it to a Planned Commercial Development. The Walton Heights neighborhood is located north and west of the planned project. The city agency has scheduled a vote for Nov. 10 and the proposal would reach the city board for approval Dec. 20.
Bale Chevrolet would occupy about 13 acres of the mixed-use development on the northwest corner of I-430 and Cantrell, according to Joe White, principal with Joe White & Associates of Little Rock, the engineering firm for the project.
The preliminary proposal has Bale and six additional lots on the land, and future uses could range from office to high-rise residential space, White said. "There are a lot of things on the drawing board right now," White said Monday. "We do know that Bale is going to move there. We're looking at a mixed-use development -- everything from commercial to office to residential.
Completion of land development and Bale's move could take up to two years.
Bale, one of the city's primary Chevy dealerships, has been selling cars for more than 100 years and is managed as a fourth-generation family business led by the founder's great-grandson Hunter Bale.
"Little Rock and all of Arkansas is our home," Bale said in a statement Monday. "We want to be a part of and support the growth of our city and state as we continue to give back to those who have supported us since 1912."
The relocation, he said, will open up greater access to the dealership.
Bale will be on a prime corner of the intersection, which is being transformed by improvements that extend through Cantrell and Rodney Parham Road.
Across Cantrell Road, on the southeast corner of the I-430 intersection, White also is awaiting final city approval for a mixed development called The Middle on 11 acres. The planning department has approved the project and it is scheduled to go before the city board on Oct. 18.
"The area is really redeveloping with the construction and redesign of Rodney Parham and Cantrell," White said.
John Flake of Flake & Co. is the real estate advisor for the land's owner, the Ed Harvey family. Clark McCarley of McCarley Real Estate represents Bale. The Harvey family home could be retained as part of the development.
Bale, located at 13101 Chenal Pkwy., has about 120 employees.