LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas — A historic building sits on a hill right off of I-30— the old VA hospital was a landmark for decades, but in recent years it has sat mostly empty.
Now, it's getting a makeover with plans in the works to reopen the building as an apartment complex.
"This building was difficult just because of the design of the building," said Pace Burt, the developer of the apartments.
Burt is a developer from Georgia who bought the old VA hospital at a price tag of more than $30-million dollars.
"It's a mid-century design, so it had a lot of movement, which means things don't line up as well, simply because you have wings and things like that," said Burt.
The former hospital first opened its doors in 1950 and was created in the International Architecture style with lots of windows and an open floor plan.
Burt explained how the 400,000-square-foot building will be split into 160 to 170 units with studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom options.
He is trying to keep the same architectural feel but with modern twists and easy access to downtown Little Rock.
"The proximity to the South Main area, and the amenities themselves. We will have the hibachi and pickleball court. We will have rooftop viewing areas, and a swimming pool, so we will have a full amenity package," said Burt.
However, this massive renovation hasn't come without some complications. The longest process so far has been cleaning up the building before construction.
"Typically, these buildings had asbestos, because they were built in the 50s and you have to do some environmental work, but it took us over a year and a half to finally get to construction based on a clean-up standpoint," he said.
As construction continues and the floor plan evolves Burt hopes to create something new and special for Central Arkansas.
He hopes to have the apartments ready to rent by late next summer.
As of now, he's hoping to list rent for the one-bedroom units at $1,300 a month and the two-bedroom units at $1,600 a month.