The Hot Springs Historic District Commission on Thursday granted a certificate of appropriateness for the construction of the first new commercial building in downtown Hot Springs in over 40 years.
The certificate, which was granted at the commission's monthly meeting Thursday morning on a unanimous vote of 4-0, is the first step in the construction of the commercial mixed-use structure at 504 Central Ave., on a parking lot owned by the Wheatley Family Limited Partnership, located immediately east of the Exchange Street Parking Plaza.
If all approvals are met, it would be the first commercial structure constructed in the downtown historic district since 1970.
Property owner Ken Wheatley later told The Sentinel-Record his decision to build the structure is "one more element in the development and the rebirth of downtown Hot Springs."
The building, which Wheatley estimates will cost over $1 million to complete, will be two stories tall. The structure's first story will house three retail businesses, and the second story will serve as a live-in suite for Wheatley's family. It will be comprised of stucco and tile and will incorporate architectural elements such as arches and columns.
"We've tried to make it blend with the downtown," architect Rico Harris of Harris Architecture said.
Suzanne Tucker, a downtown property owner, voiced concerns about converting the pedestrian area leading up to the parking plaza back into a street, and the new structure blocking the business signs on the building south of the plaza.
The Hot Springs Board of Directors in June authorized the city to seek federal money for a plan that includes improved downtown parking. The concept plan includes converting the pedestrian walkway, which runs between the two parking lots owned by the Wheatley Family Limited Partnership, back into a roadway to allow direct access from Central to the parking plaza. The Wheatley building would be constructed on the lot on the south side of the walkway, which was formerly Bath Street.
Harris told Tucker he and Nick Scurra, the project's contractor, hope to retain the walkway leading to the parking plaza. Harris said if the walkway does become a street, he would like to incorporate a sidewalk into its design.
"We're far enough back off the property line to allow for that," Harris said.
In reference to the structure blocking the business signs on the building wall south of the proposed construction site, planning assistant Rick Stauder told Tucker the construction of the building is, as far as he could tell, permitted.
Tucker also asked if any environmental impact studies have been done on the structure. Stauder said he was unaware that any such study had been done on the structure, and that factors such as environmental impact and fire safety are "still in play," as the certificate of appropriateness is a preliminary measure in the building process.
"This is really just looking at the design of the building, what's proposed and its compatibility," Stauder said.
Though the building's safety regulations are not under scrutiny just yet, Harris and Scurra did mention that their design is handicap-accessible.
As for environmental impact, Wheatley noted the proposed building site is in a flood plain, and the builders would have to "back the building up a little bit on the lot" to compensate for such conditions.
When asked about building the structure on top of an area that now provides parking spaces, Wheatley told The Sentinel-Record he does not believe downtown parking will be significantly impacted. He said there is parking at the north end of downtown pedestrians and the city of Hot Springs could take advantage of.
"The perception is that we have a parking problem, and I think that's more of a perception from the locals," he said. "We want to pull up in front of the store and go right in, but when I go as a tourist all over the world, I walk blocks and blocks from parking lots, and don't complain at all."
Wheatley said he expects his proposed building to be completed by July 2018.
"We're gonna take a place that's a hole and fill it with something that's beautiful," he said.
Local on 10/20/2017