Development in Pleasant Grove area of Rogers picks up

ROGERS -- Plans for retail growth in the Pleasant Crossing area continue with the Planning Commission's approval Tuesday of an 18,000-square-foot building.

The building will include a liquor store and about 12,000 square feet of other space for rent, said Thomas Hennelly, Crafton Tull project manager. Crafton Tull, a Rogers engineering and architect firm, has been hired to represent the project.

Derrel Smith, Rogers senior planner, said the Pleasant Crossing area just off Interstate 49 has seen a lot of development in recent months.

The Planning Commission approved six retail buildings in February, including one that will house a Burlington Coat Factory, Smith said. A Whataburger also is being developed in the area.

Cavender's Western Outfitter recently opened along with a shopping center that houses a mattress retailer, fitness center and nail salon.

Businesses first started developing the area in about 2003. Walmart was the first business built in the area. It sits near the intersection of West Pleasant Grove Road and South Pleasant Crossing Boulevard.

A few other businesses followed, but development came to a halt when the recession hit, Smith said.

Daniel Ellis, vice president of Crafton Tull, represented developers of the six buildings previously approved by the commission. He said the parking lot the buildings will use was constructed in 2004. The rest of the land sat undeveloped after the market collapsed.

There has been a renewed interest in the area in recent months, Smith said.

"We are continuing to see interest in the area," Smith said. "We are not the ones that market the property, but we get a lot of calls about it."

Hennelly said it's possible construction could start on the 18,000-square-foot building in July. It could be completed by January, depending on weather.

The 12,000 square feet of rental space could be rented all together or it could be split into smaller retail space, he said. The building is planned on the north side of Pleasant Grove Road near Bank of the Ozarks.

Hennelly said his company also will represent the developer of another 15,000-square-foot building planned in the near future. Those plans could go before the Planning Commission in the coming months, he said. He declined to say what businesses would be housed in the building.

NW News on 06/19/2015

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