NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas — The Esplanade District, contracted by the Monde Group and Arkopolis Properties, is a multi-million dollar project that will be on River Drive in North Little Rock.
There will be several phases of development on 41 acres of land and spreading out over a 10-year period.
The first phase is to build 92 apartments. It will be $20 million and is expected to be completed by the end of 2020.
"It's going to be mix-use. It's going to have apartments, it's going to have condos eventually, and in future phases, it's going to have retail space," said John Owens, a resident along the River Front street.
"They have an area where they want to create a business concierge area, might even have a restaurant."
John Owens has lived at Rock Water for three years now. There were only 5 houses there, and now there are more than 50.
The property is also in an opportunity zone. That's where an economically-distressed community can receive new investments, and be eligible for preferential tax treatment.
"Certainly glad that Governor Hutchinson took this area seriously, and that he knew we were right for development," said North Little Rock Mayor Joe Smith.