A revised cost for the three-story 600 Main Building under construction in downtown North Little Rock has raised the construction price to $8.37 million, an increase of $22,750 over the past two months, Downtown Development Board Chairman Danny Bradley said Wednesday.
The latest total -- up from $8.34 million reported to the board in June as the construction cost -- is expected to be the final maximum cost, outside of any fees and closing costs, Bradley said.
The "substantial completion date" has also changed to February, Bradley said. The original completion date was in January.
The Downtown Development Board approved late Monday afternoon raising the construction loan amount it has with First Security Bank by $198,431 to $7,998,431. Another $654,745 comes from the building's three partners: The North Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Arkansas Automobile Dealers Association and Taggart Architects. Taggart is also the building's architect. The total includes a contingency for any unexpected costs.
The change was because of revised numbers for the "finish out" of the building's interior, Bradley said. The total includes the $371,800 value of the land for the building and a parking lot. Taking that cost away puts the construction cost by itself at the nearly $8 million loan amount, he said.
"We already own the land, so that's not really a new cost," said Bradley, who is also the mayor's chief of staff.
The Downtown Development Board manages the building's construction and owns the land, representing the city.
After reviewing numbers again Wednesday morning, Bradley said he was "hopeful we won't need all of that loan."
Neither the city, nor the development board, will pay any money toward the loan, but that debt will be split between the three partners, Bradley said. Each partner will take up one floor of the building, finishing out their interior design separate from the other two.
"The board's investment is the land," Bradley said. "Each of the three partners will close and pay their portion of the construction cost. They'll pay the loan off. The board won't owe anything. The money from the property will come to the board."
The 600 Main Building is part of a complex surrounding the $5.36 million downtown Argenta Plaza, also under construction on Main Street between Fifth and Sixth streets. The First Orion building, estimated to be near $17 million, is being built directly east of, or behind, the plaza. The proposed Power & Ice indoor food court will be on the plaza's north side but isn't yet finalized.
The North Little Rock City Council created the Downtown Development Board in 2016 to oversee a "proper and orderly" development of its downtown. The council granted the board the authority to borrow money and to acquire, sell, lease or manage property for development.
NW News on 08/17/2019