Arkansas - Digital Publishing

4 January 28, 2013 Arkansas Business
WHISPERS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3
between the I-40 frontage Road on the
north and East 19th Street on the south.
This land assembled by the church
was once envisioned for The Shoppes at
North Hills, a proposed 866,000-SF, $130
million retail center.
The ill-fated project, advocated by
Belz-Burrow Development Group of
Jonesboro and Hocker & Associates Inc.
of Owensboro, Ky., became mired in
years of litigation-fueled controversy.
Environmentalists battled the developers
over wetland issues, and other
opponents joined the fray in a separate
dispute over the proposed tax increment
financing sought to subsidize con-
struction. On the drawing board since
2003, the project was to be anchored
by a 120,000-SF Bass Pro Shop. The outdoor
sporting goods chain shifted its
gaze southward last year, paying $3 million
for a 29.3-acre site in Little Rock’s
Gateway Town Center development.
Mitigation of wetland loss and flood
storage, highway access and road
improvements and other issues will no
doubt be revisited.
Cantrell Conundrum
Did you hear that the forthcoming
construction on a short stretch of
Cantrell Road in Little Rock is going to
displace some businesses?
In case you didn’t know, the state is
widening Cantrell between Mississippi
Street and Perryville Road, and that
means some of the shops near the right
of way will be affected.
One is Terry’s Finer Wines at 6700
Cantrell Road, which closed last week in
preparation to move to its new location, a
vacant building across the street at 7011
Cantrell.
Robert “Ro” Arrington, the shop’s
manager, said it’s not really a problem for
him. The 60-year-old liquor store will be
able to keep its clientele — mostly from
the Heights area, Arrington said — and
the state is paying for the move.
Arrington said the store is slated to
reopen Feb. 1.
At Stephens, we understand our continued success results from how clients are treated. With this
in mind, our work is done in a manner that demonstrates trust and clear thinking.
For 80 years, our firm has successfully managed tax‑exempt issues and financial advisory
transactions for Arkansas borrowers. And while 2012 was another good year, we understand it was
possible because of the trust and confidence shown by our fellow Arkansans.
We are continually impressed with the talent and dedication of the men and women who manage
Arkansas’ municipalities, hospitals, colleges and universities, school districts, state agencies,
counties, utility systems and other governmental organizations. thank you, Arkansas, for your
continued confidence in our capabilities.
Little rock 800‑643‑9691
Fayetteville 800‑205‑8613
LIttLe rock, Ar • AtLAntA, GA • bAton rouGe, LA
chArLotte, nc • DALLAS, tX • FAYettevILLe, Ar
JAckSon, MS • nAShvILLe, tn
StephenS Inc. • MeMber nYSe, SIpc
WHISPERS
expertise. confidence. commitment.
Building blocks of Arkansas’ future.
Standing from left: Jack truemper,
Michele casavechia, Dennis hunt,
kevin Faught, chris Angulo,
Lindsey ollar and bobbie nichols
Seated from left: Michael Mcbryde,
carey Smith, Jason holsclaw
and Mark Mcbryde (executive
vice president and Director of
public Finance)
StephenSpubLIcFInAnce.coM
On the other hand, Ken Rash’s
of Arkansas, a furniture store at 7214
Cantrell, isn’t having such an easy
time. According to Brandon Hawkins, an
employee, the business will have to move
but hasn’t yet found a new space.
Less certain is the future of the strip
of shops at the corner of Cantrell and
Keightley, where the state may be building
a turn lane. An employee of Al’s
Tobacco in that strip said he had heard
some of the businesses may need to
move, but was not aware of specifics.
Others, like Damgoode Pies, will just
lose parking. An assistant manager for
the pizza restaurant said it may have to
send out a parking attendant to direct
traffic, but the building should be safe.
The road work doesn’t start until later
this year, but the state can’t start until the
businesses are moved, Arrington said.
Benton County Move
Bliss is no longer found only in
Washington County.
Northwest Arkansas’ popular cupcake
cafe is expanding its operation to
include a Rogers location. Bliss Cupcake
Cafe is slated to open in late February or
March at 4204 W. Green Acres Road, near
Promenade Boulevard.
Flint and Rebekah Harris bought
into the original Bliss in downtown
Fayetteville in November 2011 and
added a second Fayetteville location last
year. Max and Kelly Moore recently joined
them as business partners.
Lessons Learned
Angry customers flooded social
media last week with complaints about
AT&T’s handling of a widespread U-verse
outage.
A number of Facebook posters compared
AT&T’s response with Entergy’s
handling of the power outage after the
Christmas ice storm and found the telecommunications
giant lacking by comparison.
Whispers asked Entergy Arkansas
spokeswoman Julie Munsell what PR lessons
the utility had learned.
“This was the first major event where
we [Entergy Arkansas] deployed social
media,” she said. “From the very begin-
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