New owners to bring luster to a former gem.
By Dwain Hebda
On the list of retail and entertainment developments in Little Rock, few are as ensconced in the surrounding residential neighborhood as Breckenridge Village. Now, a new ownership group is committing multiple millions to bring the former gem into a new era of prominence.
“I was around when Breckenridge was first conceived and built and it won all kinds of national awards,” said Jim Keet, chairman of JTJ Restaurants LLC, which forms part of the new ownership group. “Its approach was innovative, from the landscaping to the configuration of the buildings to having a movie theater on site. All those things combined to make it the premier development in Central Arkansas.
“Over the last couple of decades, as other properties were able to recruit some of the higher-profile tenants and others moved out, it kind of lost its way. We’re excited to be creating it in a whole new image.”
KBK-Breck LLC, spearheaded by the Keet family of restaurateurs and joined by fellow ownership partners The Kelley Group, Dale V. “Bo” Briggs, the Bodnar Group of Nashville and others, announced on May 12 its plan to transform Breckenridge back into the city’s premier retail and entertainment destination. The 80,000-square-foot center at 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road will receive new building exteriors, new landscaping and signage and new entrances with distinct architectural features.
The Regal UA Breckenridge movie theater will remain at the shopping center, amid new tenants that will include no fewer than four new restaurant concepts, one of which will be Waldo’s Chicken and Beer. It will be the second location for the fast casual restaurant, of which the Keets and Bodnar are partners.
“We’re excited about creating a whole new image architecturally on the three primary entrances,” Keet said. “We’re also planning some pretty innovative things, such as an amphitheater-style public space feature in the courtyard that all of the restaurants can use.”
Hank Kelley of The Kelley Group, whose I-430 LLC was the center’s previous owner, said the announcement of the new plan represented a bright new dawn for the development. Kelley Commercial Partners will continue to manage the property under the new ownership.
“I’m excited to have the opportunity to invest with experienced restaurateurs that understand the food and entertainment business. They can help guide us in the redevelopment of this property,” he said in a press release. “To serve the region, there is no better location in Central Arkansas than the 11 acres at the southeast corner of Rodney Parham and Interstate 430.”
Keet said preliminary work is expected to be completed before Little Rock students head back to school, and he forecasts the entire project to be complete in 18 months or less. Financing partners for the project are Relyance Bank and First Financial Bank.
“This group intends to bring back the glory days of Breckenridge and revitalize it,” Keet said. “We’re excited to be making this investment in our city and our state. We know that it’s going to be a real draw for Central Arkansas.”