GROWTH in North Little Rock

In 2020, Koppers Incorporated announced a $40 million upgrade and expansion to their facility off Bethany Road in North Little Rock. The original expansion plan was to close the North Little Rock facility and combine it with another facility. North Little Rock, the state of Arkansas and Pulaski County worked together to keep Koppers in North Little Rock. Koppers has been a part of our city since 1907 and now will remain!

Hale Trailer, Brakes and Wheel Incorporated currently located off Harris Drive in North Little Rock recently broke ground on a new 26-acre facility last year at the corner of Industrial Drive and Interstate 440. Hale is an authorized distributor of the finest quality Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) products. They put their reputation for dependability and service excellence behind every part and piece of commercial trailer equipment they offer!

Manhattan Road and Bridge, a road construction firm with offices in Little Rock, Northwest Arkansas and now North Little Rock, has been awarded a $87.3 million widening project by the Arkansas Department of Transportation on the west end of Interstate 630. The new location is 8400 Industry Drive in east North Little Rock. Manhattan Road and Bridge was recently ranked seventh on the Engineering News Record’s (ENR) Top Contractor in Transportation – Bridges.

Central Commerce Center Industrial Park, a brand new tilt-wall industrial business park in North Little Rock, offers outstanding access to primary arterials for interstate commerce and logistics. Central Commerce Center features convenient truck court access, abundant dock high loading, desirable clear height and clear span, interstate frontage and visibility, and additional land is available for yard or future expansion.

Arlo Washington is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of People Trust Community Federal Credit Union located on East Broadway in North Little Rock. People’s Bank, an accredited, full-service credit union, provides capital to low and moderate income communities. People’s Bank and Trust is the first and only black-owned financial institution in the entire state of Arkansas.

The construction of a new blending plant off East Broadway in North Little Rock, will double the production capacity for Safe Foods’ organic food wash. The project includes a new 55,000-square-foot packaging facility and warehouse that will allow Safe Foods to manufacture 19 additional product lines for PSSI that will be used to protect consumers from foodborne illness. PSSI is the nation’s industry leader in food safety. The expansion is expected to be completed in 2023 and will create at least 20 new jobs.

Pictured is the nearly completed Lowes distribution warehouse, a 1.2 million-square-foot bulk distribution warehouse on 115 acres in North Little Rock, creating 300 new jobs. This distribution warehouse is scheduled to open in the third quarter of 2023. The Lowes distribution warehouse is the most prominent building in the tulip farm area of North Little Rock. The site has seen unprecedented growth in the last three years, and more development is planned for this area.

The Maly Group has begun prepping its North Little Rock site (the old Wild River County location) for a high-tech center that will have something for everyone: T-Time golf, an electronic driving range, HyperLanes bowling, a virtual arcade as well as restaurants, specialty shops, and more. So far, 800,000 truckloads of dirt have been excavated from this site. The Maly Group plans to start construction in early July of this year. In addition, for citizens that miss the Wild River County water theme park, the group says they will keep the old tower and even tease keeping Wild River Country in the new name.

The completed Amazon facility in the forefront is a one-million-square-foot fulfillment center on 140 acres with over 1,500 employees. In the background, a nearly complete Lowes Distribution warehouse is a 1.2 million-square-foot bulk distribution warehouse on 115 acres, creating 300 new jobs. These two facilities comprise almost 2.5 million square feet of space and nearly 2,000 jobs.