No definitive plans for ACTI building, officials say

While personnel and programming changes have been solidified over the past several days, the fate of Arkansas Career Training Institute's physical campus is still unknown.

Programming on the campus will cease on or before Sept. 30, and the premises are to be completely vacated by Dec. 31.

"We don't have any idea what the building will be used for," Arkansas Rehabilitation Services Commissioner Alan McClain said Friday.

"I know that there are folks who have contemplated possible uses, but I've not heard anything definitively. It's an incredible structure and an incredible campus, and I'm hopeful that someone will see the potential here and be able to move forward with full utilization of the building and the complex," ACTI Director Jonathan Bibb said Monday.

"It's an incredible structure. There are a lot of architectural components that you don't just see in any building. Also, with it being on Central Avenue, it's a very beautiful, very convenient location," he said.

The ACTI campus was originally built in the 1880s as the nation's first Army/Navy Hospital with control of the facility transferred to the U.S. Army in 1957. ARS has operated the facility since 1960, according to a release that accompanied the announcement of the programming changes.

As the building was deeded to Arkansas Rehabilitation Services by the Department of Defense, any new use for the building must be approved by the DOD and used for public health or public educational purposes. Otherwise, the building will revert to the DOD.

The ACTI facility "shall be used by the State of Arkansas as a vocational rehabilitation center or for the other public health or educational purposes. If at any time the Secretary of the Army determines, upon advice received from the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, that the property is not used for such purposes, title thereto shall immediately revert to the United States," according to the quitclaim deed for the campus The Sentinel-Record acquired through a Freedom of Information Act request.

If the facility is used for another educational or public health purpose, the state will not need to consult the DOD or change the terms of the deed.

"The State may simply proceed with those uses without need for any further action regarding the deed," Army Legislative Liaison Maj. Tom Harper said in a May 9 email to Arkansas Career Education Director Charisse Childers, which was obtained through an FOIA request.

McClain said the city of Hot Springs has been, and will continue to be, directly involved with the decision as to the building's use.

"We are working really closely with the Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce," McClain said Friday.

Gary Troutman, president and CEO of The Greater Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce and Hot Springs Metro Partnership, said Wednesday two people have "expressed interest" to the chamber thus far regarding the building.

He said "he was not at liberty to say just yet" who the interested parties are or their intended use for the building due to them being expressed "on the condition of anonymity."

"There's 270,000 square feet collectively, so there's just not a lot of organizations that will need that much room. Optimally, we would parcel it up among several different organizations. Possibly something for veterans? I really don't know," Troutman said.

Though the deed states the facility must be used for public health or public educational purposes, Troutman encouraged all interested persons to contact the Chamber of Commerce, saying "I think we're going to reach a point eventually where all proposals are on the table. It's not going to do our community any good to have a building of that size vacant."

Clay Farrar, a retired local attorney, has "volunteered to lead a local grassroots committee to explore every option available" for the ACTI building, Troutman said.

"At this point, I'm just getting the committee together. It's in the formation stage," Farrar said.

"Our purpose is simply to push the state and federal government so that the property will be properly mothballed. You've got to drain the water and such out of the plumbing system so that it remains salvageable in the years ahead, things like that."

He said that based on other similar situations he has researched, facilities similar to ACTI are often converted into senior veterans' housing or a medical complex.

"It would be a tragedy to at least not make an effort to repurpose the building. Our goal is to make sure the building doesn't fall apart while we are looking for someone to repurpose the building," Farrar said.

Troutman said that while the chamber intends to organize a committee of city and county community and business leaders to vote on a use for the building, the federal government would likely "have final jurisdiction over that decision."

Proposed alterations to the building's exterior will not immediately exclude a bid from consideration.

"We want to maintain the integrity, but not to the point where it sits there vacant for years and years. So if we have to be flexible on that, I could see where we need to be. The last thing we would want is for that building to sit vacant for a significant amount of time. We don't want it vacant for even one day," Troutman said.

Any plans for "major alterations involving the exterior appearance of existing buildings and structures on said lands, including the landscape treatment thereof, shall be submitted to the Secretary of the Interior for considerations and approval a reasonable time before construction is to be undertaken," the quitclaim deed said.

The building being deeded to the state government by the federal government may also cause some issues.

"We will continue to assess and vet proposals as they come forward, but with a helping dose of reservation. The problem is the state is going to own it until Dec. 31. We are going to eventually need to be dealing with someone at the federal level," Troutman said.

"My concern frankly is just having someone from the federal government that we can deal with on or before Jan. 1, 2020, because the sooner the better."

Troutman said the ACTI campus would "be deeded back at the end of the year. The state will hold possession until that time."

"At the end of the day, we're looking for the best possible use of the building. It's a major component of the community and downtown as a whole," he said.

Local on 06/20/2019

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