Highland Park Town Center includes hotel, retail

|tab|

A 55-acre retail and residential development is moving forward in Republic on Highway 174.|ret||ret||tab|

Don and Shelly LaRue, owners of Republic-based LaRue Construction, are the developers of Highland Park Town Center project.|ret||ret||tab|

Don LaRue said the 12 residential lots in the development already have been sold, and three houses are under construction.|ret||ret||tab|

He said there will be 25 to 30 one-acre commercial plots, some of which already are spoken for. |ret||ret||tab|

"It's zoned C-2, so it's going to be pretty much commercial retail type stuff," he said. |ret||ret||tab|

The LaRues already have obtained the franchise for and will put in an Americ-Inn Hotel. |ret||ret||tab|

Don LaRue said that will probably be the first commercial project built in the development.|ret||ret||tab|

AmericInn is based in Minneapolis-St. Paul, he added, and he described the ho-tels as "above mid-scale, like a Court-yard by Marriott or Fairfield Inn or something like that."|ret||ret||tab|

The AmericInn in the Highland Park Town Center will be a two-story, 46-unit hotel with room for a 20-room expansion if needed.|ret||ret||tab|

"In the 46 rooms, there'll be approximately 10 suites, you know, what they call Jacuzzi suites, real nice with refrigerators and everything like that in them," he said. "We're going to have an 80-person conference room in the hotel, and it also has a big indoor room, sauna and hot tub."|ret||ret||tab|

"We're working on the plans right now, and then this hotel franchise is supposed to bring a place called Montana Mike's Steak House in," he added. |ret||ret||tab|

The developers also are working with a couple whose plans for a large skating rink are in progress. |ret||ret||tab|

The LaRues are going to build a "small strip mall for about four businesses," LaRue said. He noted that a few tenants have been lined up, but he couldn't provide their names because "nothing's etched in stone." |ret||ret||tab|

LaRue said the development is open to all interested parties, but they especially hope to bring in some good quality restaurants. In fact, LaRue added, he's "working with an upscale catfish place out of Arkansas. We think we've just about got them tied in."|ret||ret||tab|

The price for land in the Highland Park Town Center starts at $3 per square foot, LaRue said. Land can be broken into half-acre to three-acre lots, he added. |ret||ret||tab|

The LaRues "just saw the need" for a development like Highland Park Town Center, so they decided to do it.|ret||ret||tab|

"We've been in construction for 25 years ... and we own a big storage complex, and we just saw the need for commercial growth in Republic ... there's just a lot of potential here," LaRue said. |ret||ret||tab|

"(Republic)'s got everything that you need. We're just south of the interstate, and then we've got one of the main avenues coming out of Arkansas and Oklahoma with Highway 60, so we feel like it's a great location," he added.|ret||ret||tab|

The Republic Area Chamber of Com-merce is excited about the LaRues' development, according to Terry Moon-eyham, chamber president. |ret||ret||tab|

"The community's looking forward to having a hotel with meeting room facilities," she said.|ret||ret||tab|

The chamber is working with an economic development committee to attract new businesses to the Republic area. |ret||ret||tab|

"It's a community effort with the city and the chamber," Mooneyham said. "We are very excited for Mr. LaRue and his project."[[In-content Ad]]