Pavilion in the Park was built in 1985 by Arkansan cardiologist C.D. Williams and David Jones at the cost of as an upscale shopping center. The structure was designed by Little Rock-based Polk Stanley Yeary Architects and constructed by Little Rock-based Kinco Constructors. The center found itself with just 64 percent occupancy in 1988 and dropped to 54 percent occupancy in 1989 after losing major national tenants, including
Laura Ashley and
Bombay Company, to the newly renovated
Park Plaza Mall. Pavilion in the Park had a pretentious reputation that kept some customers away, according to the manager of the center in 1991, saying, "when I moved here, people told me I couldn't shop here, and they didn't even know what I made. It had that reputation." A foreclosure suit was filed in 1989 and was battled for nearly two years until it was dismissed in 1990. In the early 1990s, Pavilion in the Park started accepting business offices as tenants and signed new retail tenants, such as a luxury men's store and a furrier. Non-retail tenants added at Pavilion in the Park include Prince Plastic Surgery and Legacy Spine and Neurological Specialists. By 1991, Pavilion in the Park had 75 percent occupancy, opened at Pavilion in the Park. In the 1990s, Baumans closed its other location, located on Main Street, and expanded its footprint at Pavilion in the Park. Both Baumans and B. Barnett are still currently located at the Pavilion in the Park. == See also ==