R.H. Ghan Commercial Properties is proud to announce that our Executive Broker, Bob Cooper, was recently featured in an article on arkansasbusiness.com titled No Boom, No Bust in River Valley.  The article, written by Rob Keys, compares commercial real estate in the River Valley to that of Northwest Arkansas. The article states that while the Northwest Arkansas market has been a roller coaster, the market in the River Valley is more of a kiddie-park ride. Although last year was a slow year for commercial real estate in the area, Cooper said the interest we’ve seen from national retailers, restaurants, and manufacturers has put R.H. Ghan “on pace to surpass last year by far.” When asked about what the market is doing right now in the River Valley, Bob replied “there is easily 200,000 square feet available of big box property”.  He said it is mostly due to the closure of the city’s K-Mart and the opening of the Fort Smith Pavilion.  Cooper then went on to speak about the future of the market in 2010.  He said he is now seeing interest from national retailers who are looking to expand in the River Valley. Cooper also stated that there currently aren’t a lot of office vacancies in Fort Smith.  He then said “there might even be a need for an office park here.” The article ends by adding that although Fort Smith missed out on the big market peaks that Northwest Arkansas saw, they also missed out on the terrifying downfall as well. R.H. Ghan Commercial Properties would like to congratulate Bob Cooper in his involvement in the article.