CDP dreams big with Smith Ford possibilities

(EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the second in a series of articles about the development of downtown Conway and the Conway Downtown Partnership.)

Many people look at the old buildings in downtown and see a blight. The traditional businesses that once filled these buildings left downtown when they realized their business model no longer could succeed under such circumstances.

Smith Ford and Plunket-Merrell Grocers followed the trends in their industries. Smith moved to a larger lot along Highway 65 with an enlarged showroom. Plunket-Merrell, whose building is now a warehouse for Kordsmeier Furniture, decided to close shop rather than compete with larger chains, such as Kroger and Wal-Mart.

The Smith Ford building now lies dormant and the downtown movie theater has been leveled. Few people visit the location that once teemed with life, from the time the dealership opened until the final movie played.

WHAT IT WAS

The last Fords drove off the Smith lot on Front Street in 1974. The dealership was hemmed in on all sides and could not store enough cars. The building remains - though the neighboring movie theater does not.

S.T. "Ros" Smith Jr. once owned the building, as did his father, S.T. Smith Sr., and his grandfather, S.G. Smith. He hopes the Front Street properties will regain the life they once possessed.

Smith Ford built its dealership in 1923. The two-story, red-bricked building's storefront rests against the sidewalk and the ceiling overhangs an area shaped like a stop sign cut in half. Two mounds rise out of the cracked concrete floor underneath the old building's overhang. Hand-operated gas pumps once occupied the space above the mounds and served Smith Ford customers as a filling station.

The movie theater built behind the dealership also brought people to downtown and gave young students like Tom Courtway, who is the vice president of development and operations at Hendrix, something to do when he was a spry young man.

"The hit of the summer was the free show," Courtway said. "Every two to three weeks, the theater would show a film for free and I always made sure to get good seats because the theater was one of the only places in town that had air conditioning."

WHY IT WORKED

The building's ability to function as both a movie theater and dealership exhibits a key rule for successful urban planning according to Jane Jacobs' "The Death and Life of Great American Cities," published in 1961. Successful neighborhoods must vary the primary uses of buildings and allow visitors to accomplish multiple tasks at one time. For instance, shoppers might have their car serviced and watch a movie while waiting.

Mixing uses brings city blocks to life at different times of the day, according to Jacobs. Placing the movie theater next to the dealership not only provided the Smith family with a secondary income, but also allowed movie goers to inspect the cars in the showroom while waiting to buy their tickets.

Those attending a movie might come primarily for the show, but Jacobs argues that bringing crowds of people to the downtown at various times of the day also allows consumers to inspect the wares of local vendors.

And, Courtway's example can help prove Jacobs' point. Courtway now drives a Mercury Grand Marquis that displays the Smith Ford logo on its front license plate.

HOW CDP HOPES TO RECAPTURE OLD DAYS

While the building no longer fits into Smith Ford's plans, the Conway Downtown Partnership hopes to work with the owners of buildings like the Smith Ford space to create a neighborhood that once again is full of life, Conway Downtown Partnership Director T.J. Johnston said.

"We want to create an experience economy in the downtown area," he said. "We want people to realize you can get something in downtown that you can't get anywhere else."

The CDP's plan for the downtown now focuses on bringing more unique vendors to downtown since businesses, such as dealerships and wholesale grocery stores, cannot maintain headquarters along Front Street any longer.

The partnership plans to integrate residential and commercial spaces together into mixed-use developments. The CDP's goal is to create a cohesive downtown atmosphere that invites people to visit at all times of the day.

Johnston said the Smith Ford building has become a landmark building in downtown.

"[The building] is part of the charm and character of downtown. It's something you can't replace," he said. "There is so much to the building. It has such great bones, character and facade. It provides a canvas for something to work."

A mixed-use development might work well in the building, Johnston said. The high ceilings and open warehouse would allow a new tenant to section the building into multiple businesses and apartments.

Smith did not want to discuss what the building might become since he no longer owns the property, but he proposed the building might work well as an open market that can often be seen in larger cities. The open area and high ceilings would allow vendors to set up booths throughout and allow shoppers to examine their wares.

Smith acknowledged that such development would take time, but he suggested the downtown had come a long way toward recapturing the life it once possessed.