Metro board OKs partner for overhaul

Rock Region Metro’s board of directors voted on Tuesday to allow architecture and engineering management firm Wendel Companies to proceed with a public-private partnership to redevelop the River Cities Transit Center.

The project could include entry-level housing, a child development center, a medical clinic, shared community space and administrative offices for Rock Region Metro, said Susan Sherwood, principal at Wendel Companies.

Under this scenario, the new transit hub would be between 12 and 14 stories high with transit operations running at the street level, roughly 200,000 square feet of commercial space and 225 units of workforce housing.

The project would be a Transit-Oriented Development. The Federal Transit Administration defines such urban developments as those that create compact, mixeduse communities near transit where people can easily access jobs and services.

The Transit-Oriented Development project began in 2019 when the agency hired consultation firms to assess the feasibility of redeveloping the River Cities Travel Center. Two years later, the consultants, along with direction from the board, decided to reject a private-private partnership scenario for the redevelopment, which would have meant selling the land and travel center to private developers. A third scenario involved partnering entirely with public agencies and no private developers.

Wendel Companies and Rock Region Metro CEO Justin Avery endorsed the public-private option, which could include public tenants and operations, but the project itself would not be led by a partnership with another public agency.

The “Dock at the Rock” project, as Avery dubbed it for grant application purposes, is designed to be a “true catalyst” for future development in the downtown area.

Aside from Wendel Companies, other consultants for the project include minority urban planning firm NEOO Partners Inc., Marko Management Consultants, civil engineering firm Crafton Tull and economic development group Willdan Financial Services.

Sherwood, principal at Wendel Companies, spoke to board members about the plan’s progress, adding that the original feasibility study “went on hold” in 2020, and when Rock Region Metro approached the firm again in 2022, the study’s findings still held: the travel center could be redeveloped as a Transit-Oriented Development with the specific intent of creating an independent revenue stream for the transit agency.

Wendel Companies engaged with key stakeholders throughout 2023, and again in May of this year to ensure community partners understood and had the opportunity to give feedback on the plan, Sherwood said. Key stakeholders included Central Arkansas Water, the city of Little Rock staff and board of directors, commercial real estate developers, the Little Rock Port Authority, emergency and medical personnel and nonprofit Excel by 8 which focuses on improving educational and health outcomes for children throughout the state.

Rock Region Metro and Wendel Companies applied for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity, or RAISE, grant, which is designed to support critical freight and passenger transportation infrastructure projects. The application was rejected, which Sherwood said is “totally normal” and that the project will likely have more luck in the next round of applications.

PARKING QUESTIONS RAISED

Sherwood said parking is not yet concretely included in the project plan.

“Those who are familiar with the site know that there is a sea of parking lots all around this project site,” Sherwood said, adding that the firm will work with Rock Region Metro to determine whether additional lots need to be purchased to make more parking available for those living and working at the transit hub.

Phillip Lemley, a member of the board, expressed concern about parking being “an afterthought” instead of a “prime concern.”

Avery reiterated that additional parking needs are still being evaluated, including whether more parking can be added “somewhere in the middle of this redevelopment” or in surrounding areas. Sherwood said there will be a minimum number of parking spaces available for deliveries and pickups on the first level of the new building, but that long-term tenant parking is not currently included in the project plan.

Board member Sylvester Smith echoed Lemley’s parking concerns, stating that bringing in this amount of housing and commercial space is going to lead to a need for additional parking. Smith said that with money being tight and developers being “locked up,” now is the time to flesh out a parking plan.

“Right now, land is cheap because there aren’t a lot of players building new development in that area, and so I believe this would be the best time for us to acquire something,” Smith told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Sherwood said that private developers might bring parking from adjacent properties to any future deals.

AN ANCHOR DEVELOPMENT

“This project that we are talking about right here is only one component of the big picture of TOD,” Sherwood said, referring to the Transit-Oriented Development. “The hope is that, and what we see happen — generally speaking, all over the country when we do this — is that you build an anchor development and the other developers are going to infill other properties around you.”

Moving forward, Wendel Companies will communicate and seek developer input relating to the public-private scenario the board approved. The firm will also continue writing grants, begin developing a Request for Information to be distributed to developers across the country to gauge interest in the project, continue coordinating with the city of Little Rock on infrastructure planning, and start engaging in extensive public outreach, Sherwood said.

“I think it’s a tremendous opportunity for us to be a national leader in these types of public-private partnerships and really putting money in a global project where you can live, get childcare, shop and work all in the same space,” Smith said.

FUNDING THE PLAN

Rock Region Metro has used 5307 funding, or urbanized area formula grants given by the Federal Transit Administration, to work with Wendel Companies on the development project. The urbanized area formula funding program makes federal funds available to grant recipients for transit capital, operating assistance and transit-related planning in urban areas. The particular grant that Rock Region Metro received required the agency to fund 20% of the planning — which came from reserves, the State Transit Trust Fund and the Arkansas Department of Transportation — while the FTA funded the remaining 80%. The agency is still working on a plan for funding the remainder of the project.

The board was also notified of the completion of a 30-foot wide “super shelter” on Willow Street in North Little Rock which includes a variety of amenities such as USB charging ports, ventilation fans and a display case that will provide real-time information on bus arrivals to waiting customers.

Construction is underway on two more bus shelters on Midtown Avenue in Little Rock, and the board unanimously approved a construction change order which increased the construction contract from $985,587 to $1,101,562 after underground utility conflicts and rock excavation needs were discovered to complete the project.

The board also approved an assessment task order from Urban Engineers — a firm specializing in planning, engineering, environmental and construction services — to begin the process of bringing Rock Region Metro’s streetcar service to the William J. Clinton Library and Museum and surrounding areas back online after this portion of the system was halted in 2019 as part of the 30 Crossing Project.

The assessment will include site visits, reporting of the findings and development of the scope and fee for the next phase of engineering, including assessing replacement of any streetcar tracks and other related infrastructure. Although the assessment will cost $69,972 for Rock Region Metro and will take roughly five weeks to complete, Avery said the Arkansas Department of Transportation will ultimately reimburse the transit agency.

Original Article:

https://www.pressreader.com/usa/arkansas-democrat-gazette/20240724/page/9/textview