Many of our readers are familiar with the historic Arlington Hotel in Hot Springs Ark. We are sure more than a few have stayed there from time to time, perhaps during racing season at Oaklawn Park or during the summer months that draw many tourists who enjoy walking the quaint downtown.
The Arlington was once a grand structure and is still impressive, but it's obvious the hotel has seen better days. But there was good news last week.
A group of San Antonio and Little Rock investors bought the hotel and plan to give it a facelift. All the plans have not been released, but the group says the historic charm will be retained and the current room count of 478 will be reduced by about 100 to make some rooms larger.
That's good news for Hot Springs. We wish them well.
But the news has some in Texarkana wondering why something similar couldn't be done with downtown's Hotel Grim.
Last week the Texarkana, Texas, City Council gave the green light to developer Jim Sari's plans to turn the derelict structure into affordable housing with retail space on the ground floor. That doesn't sit well with some. They wonder on social media why the Grim could not be restored to its former glory as Texarkana's grandest hotel.
The answer is that Texarkana is not Hot Springs.
Tourism is and has always been the lifeblood of Hot Springs. The Arlington, even in its somewhat distressed state of the past few decades, still draws a crowd. The market for the hotel is there.
Even the most optimistic can't say that about Texarkana.
Real life is not a movie. You can't build it and expect them to come. The numbers have to make sense before investors will commit their cash to a project.
The numbers apparently make sense for a restored historic hotel in Hot Springs. We would love to see the same here at home, but it looks like the numbers make sense for a restored hotel converted to affordable housing in downtown Texarkana.
We support the City Council's decision. We wish Sari the best. And we look forward to a new lease on life for Hotel Grim.