Stephens affiliate in 2019 for $4.3 million and then razed of buildings. The city now plans to pay
$5.8 million for land valued at less than half that by the county assessor.)
As Lindsey Millar reported last night, a taxpayer-subsidized parking deck for the wealthy Stephens Inc. financial empire and the Marriott Hotel left the station at the Little Rock City Board last night.
In theory, the approval of a batch of resolutions to hire bond counsel, set a bond issue in motion and hire an architect, wasn’t a final approval for building the project (an estimated $22 million-plus, at least, not counting interest). But I don’t doubt that cake is baked.
Nonetheless, a relevant piece of information emerged last night. That is that the city manager told the board the city expects to pay a Stephens affiliate $5.8 million for the land.
$5.8 million.
Without an independent appraisal.
For land that was acquired in 2019 for $4.3 million.
For land that is appraised by the county assessor at $2.2 million.
For land that is not worth what Stephens paid for it because the purchase included multiple occupied commercial buildings, one a renovated historic structure, that Stephens razed for a 100-space surface parking lot. (Yes, the razing and fencing cost some money, but I’d guess it fell short of $1.5 million.)
City Manager Bruce Moore had told me there’d be an appraisal of this property. Others insist the Stephens empire is doing the city a favor by graciously selling this land at a profit for a parking deck meant to add spaces for the hotel, which lost spaces in a parking deck DESIGNED for the hotel because Stephens now controls that half-block deck adjacent to the Stephens Inc. tower. That deck is directly across 2nd Street from this newly planned concrete car warren. Incidentally, Stephens-controlled enterprises also own the whole block immediately east, between Markham, Second, Louisiana and Main, for the Capital Hotel. They also own the half-block of surfacing parking along Main that once was occupied by an office building. They at least fronted all that cost themselves. Here, they get spaces to rent with taxpayer help and presumably could leave them with no penalty should they no longer need them.
I still have questions about the deal. I repeat them. Maybe a City Board member, in rubber-stamping another windfall profit for the Stephens empire (remember the $11 million Tech Park purchase on Capital Avenue?), will at least get a full financial rundown before the vote.
I add this relevant contextual question at the top:
What is the history of financing — total cost, including interest, plus the source of the payments — for the existing three downtown parking decks (two on Main and one in the River Market)? And what have the financial operating results been for the life of the decks?
I also repeat my previous questions:
How many millions in bonds will be sold to pay for the project?
What will the bond underwriter make on the deal?
What will the bond counsel make on the deal?
How much interest will be paid to retire the bonds sold to pay for the deck?
How many parking spaces will be guaranteed for Stephens, the Marriott and the public in this new deck?
Will the general public have access to the deck?
What will the rental rate be for spaces in the deck?
Has anybody studied the potential impact on traffic from the 600-space deck? (Ever driven around e-Stem Charter School on the east side of Louisiana in the same block) during school opening and closing hours?)
What are the operating costs of the deck?
What revenues will be pledged to retire the bonds?
Is it anticipated that sales tax and other general revenue will support the bonds?
Are rental fees expected to cover more than operating costs? Is there a financial plan by which rentals pay the entire cost of construction and financing?
Why has there been no discussion of this previously? This project was set in motion in 2020, without discussion, but delayed by the pandemic and revved up again in October with requests for people to bid on designing and underwriting the project. This all happened quietly even though some city planners had objected to the Stephens affiliate’s razing of the half-block for a parking lot. More parking lots do not contribute to downtown quality of life.
City Director Kathy Webb alone voted against advancing this project last night. There was scant discussion. Who needs it? All know that Little Rock is devoted to turning downtown into a parking lot, in part so that there’s at-the-door parking for the people who work downtown, but prefer to avoid contact with the city streets before they race home to the suburbs on a city-destroying ditch now undergoing a billion-dollar-plus widening so they can get home even faster.