THAT’S BUSINESS

Meeting the demand for wine and buildings

Commercial property in the heart of Little Rock’s old downtown retail district was going begging only two years ago.

But, obviously, that is changing as it is becoming a place to live, dine and party. Not to mention rub shoulders with the performing arts.

Even structures with no real historical architecture are being bought.

A vacant, sad-looking one-story building at 219 W. Capitol Ave. - passed over time and again - has been bought, presumably because its neighbors just to the east, the Hall and Davidson buildings, are being transformed into the Capitol Lofts, 56 urban apartments, with retail space on the street level.

Brian Rogers says he bought on Jan. 17 the 4,791-square-foot building known as the Sterling annex with no particular plan in mind other than to fix it up.

Rogers bought the building as Premiere Distributors Inc., according to county land records, for $185,000.

That’s $38.62 per square foot.

Capitol Lofts LLC paid $850,000 for the architecturally significant Hall and Davidson buildings in the same block, a total of 65,000 square feet, on Oct. 31. That’s $13.08 per square foot.

Two sales don’t establish a trend, but increasing demand and limited supply can only mean two things: higher prices and more property tax revenue.

Interestingly, Rogers was granted a wholesale liquor distributor license Sept. 18, three months after this newspaper broke the news of the sale of the Hall and Davidson buildings and four months before he closed the deal on the Sterling annex.

Who knows, says Michael Langley, director of the Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Control agency, Rogers might be looking to establish a niche distributorship specializing, say, in wines. Rogers isn’t saying.

Meantime, not far away, at401 E. Third St., Stratton’s Market is catering to downtowners’ tastes in wine, beer and liquor. The store, which opened last fall adjacent to Don Dugan’s namesake pub, is moving along nicely but carefully, Dugan said.

His Stratton’s Market wine rack has a capacity of 1,300 bottles, and is more than half filled, Dugan said Thursday.

Dugan said that “we’re adding as we go,” soliciting requests from customers. Besides, filling the wine rack all at once was not attractive “because it’s expensive.”

He initially planned to put Stratton’s Market in the new Mann on Main mixed-use development, but thought better of it, given its proximity to the eStem Public Charter Schools. (Dugan bought the license from the owner of the News Mart, which had been located in the same block on Main.)

Langley said that even though the ABC rules could have allowed the license to be “grandfathered” in, the Alcoholic Beverage Control board’s past decisions didn’t bode well for Dugan’s chances.

Stratton’s also stocks craft beers, including brands made in Arkansas breweries, such as Diamond Bear in Little Rock and Core Brewing in Springdale.

Along with specialty meats and bakery goods, Stratton’s carries household detergents and personal items, including pain relievers for those who may have partaken too much the night before.

Colonial Wines and Spirits made an application Tuesday to move its operation from 11200 Markham St. to 812 Reservoir Road, the former location of a Cleo’s furniture store and just southwest of Professor Bowl.

But it, too, has encountered the proximity factor.

Langley, the Alcoholic Beverage Control director, said that the proposed site is too close to Grace Presbyterian Church at 9301 N. Rodney Parham Road.

It’s about 800 feet from point to point, Langley said. State law and ABC rules state that a liquor store “shall not” be within 1,000 feet.

“My initial check of it is that it’s going to be within 1,000 feet,” Langley said. The agency uses a combination of ground measurement and Google Earth to determine the distance, he said.

Colonial Wines owner Clark Trim said that his measurement put the proposed site at about 1,500 feet, almost twice as far as as Langley’s.

“We’ll have to address that at the correct forum,” Trim said. Trim declined to say why he wants to move Colonial. The former Cleo’s has 15,000 square feet. Trim wouldn’t say how big the current store is.

Westside Wines and Spirits at 9120 N. Rodney Parham Road in the Ashley Square shopping center is much closer to the church than the proposed site for Colonial, but Langley said that Westside has been at that location since 1989, when the minimum distance was 600 feet. It was increased to 1,000 feet in 2001, Langley said.

A Walgreens across Rodney Parham from the church is not covered under the statute and regulation because it only carries wine from small producers and beer, he said.

If you have a tip, call Jack Weatherly at (501) 378-3518 or email him at [email protected]

Business, Pages 71 on 03/16/2014

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