Second chances.(Whispers)(Burkhaher Capital Development LLC)(Brief article)

The clock is ticking on the Arkansas First Building.

Little Rock's Burkhaher Capital Development LLC proposed the 40,000-SF office building near the state Capitol, hoping to finish the project by January.

Six months later, earth hasn't even moved.

As it has with many developments, the economy has sidetracked Arkansas First, said Joseph Stevens, president of Burkhalter & Stevens Inc. of Little Rock. B&S is the general contractor.

"We are ready to build anytime. But it's just like any developer: You wait to get someone who is excited about the space," he said. "Otherwise you are just throwing your money away."

If built, the project will occupy most of a block bounded by Victory Street on the east, Seventh Street on the south, Woodlane Street on the west and Sixth Street on the north.

Construction must begin by next July or the zoning process will start anew. The Capitol Zoning District Commission allows only one extension per project, said Kelli Peters, the commission's preservation administrator.

"The way our procedures are, if they get one extension and need another one, they would have to go before the commission again--basically start all over," Peters said.

The project's architects, Heiple + Wiedower Architects of Little Rock, filed an extension July 1 with the zoning commission for variances granted first in 2008, Peters said.

Construction on the $5 million building must begin before July 1, 2010. Stevens believes it will.

"We think within a year's time we'll be able to break ground," he said.

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