The Cleburne: Phase 1
Converting the Cleburne Hotel into space for housing for 130 college students, 2 faculty suites, and 3 commercial spaces will take a lot of work. There’s no way to overstate just how much planning and development has to go into repurposing such an old, massive building to meet the needs of the future, but we’re not afraid of hard, complicated work, are we? We at Delta Magic are committed to doing the hard, complicated work while also transparently sharing the process and using it as an opportunity to educate others on how big projects like these happen. To that end, let’s talk about Phase I!
Phase I
If you saw the announcement on social media or in the paper, you may think that we just started this project recently. The reality, though, is that we’ve been working on this project since 2023! Let’s take a look at what this phase entails, and see where we are in it at the date of this post:
Feasibility study - complete - We had to determine if this project was going to be possible. A feasibility study was commissioned by Phillips Community College to be performed by the Helena Architecture Team. This study revealed that the foundation is in remarkably great condition due to the impressive commitment to strong frameworks and materials used in the construction. The study also gave us a few possible layout designs and gave us the number of 130 beds and 2 commercial spaces. Knowing the potential capacity is important in determining whether or not a business model could sustain the investment needed. The good news is that it absolutely could!
Building acquisition - complete - Delta Magic worked with Southern Bancorp to receive the building as a donation, along with $250,000 for preliminary stabilization work. We want to express our deepest levels of gratitude for their commitment to our community!
Brownfield Project - started - When a building contains high levels of hazardous materials due to its former use they could become eligible to be marked as a Brownfield Project. This is a program from the Environmental Protection Agency that provides money for states to perform initial studies and then remediate (clean up) the property to prevent the hazardous materials from being improperly disposed of. The Cleburne Hotel has high amounts of lead paint, asbestos, and likely other contaminants. Delta Magic applied for Brownfield assistance quickly after acquiring the building, and we’re thrilled to share that our application was accepted! This means that the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality is contracting with a company to go into the Cleburne, determine how much remediation is needed, and then clean out the affected materials. This is a huge step that could equate to hundreds of thousands of dollars saved!
Stabilization - started - The outside of the Cleburne Hotel has overgrown vegetation, falling bricks, and exposed entry points. These are all hazards and unsightly issues that contribute to a feeling of depression in our downtown. We have started assembling a crew to address these issues immediately. We have already started by adding more fencing to the perimeter, but our goal is to stabilize the brickwork and cleanup the block as soon as possible.
Planning - started - Paying for such a large project involves numerous funding sources that require strategic planning. We have identified the largest areas of funding, but at that scale we have to be absolutely sure that everything is being considered. For that purpose we have hired a Developer who has a long history of large, historic projects like this throughout the Mississippi River Delta. We are putting that capital stack together now so that we can fund the next phase.
Community Input - started - We want to ensure that the community is involved in every step of this project. We have already hosted a Downtown Summit, which saw over 50 community members engaging in the current projects happening downtown. Our next step is to host facilitated sessions with elected officials, educators, and community members on how this project will look in the end. Keep an eye out for opportunities to work with us soon!
View from one of the rooms, looking over Cherry and towards Battery C.
Inside the office of Smith Insurance Agency, the last tenant to move out in 2003.