From Drug Houses to Dream Homes: Revitalizing a Block
Most investors drive right past neighborhoods like this one. We bought in. On a recent episode of the Relentless Growth Podcast, I walked through one of the most challenging projects we’ve ever taken on here in Central Arkansas: a street known for drug houses, abandoned properties, and zero outside investment. Here’s how we’ve been turning it into a thriving rental community, and what it really takes to do deep value-add work at the neighborhood level.
Seeing Opportunity Where Others See Blight
The big idea behind this project is committing to a whole block instead of a single house. When a builder or investor revitalizes one property on a rough street, the impact is limited. But when you take on multiple properties and lots in the same pocket, you can actually change the trajectory of the entire area. We identified this forgotten neighborhood as an opportunity precisely because most people wouldn’t touch it, and that meant far less competition for us.
The Reality of Cleaning Up a Tough Street
I won’t sugarcoat it. Some of these were genuinely drug-den houses with junk everywhere. We bought a duplex where both sides were occupied by problem tenants, and we had to wait a long time to move forward because the eviction process stalled out during the COVID-era eviction moratoriums. Once that ended and the evictions finally went through, things got dramatic fast. The day the sheriff’s department forced one tenant out, the previous owner showed up with a huge tractor and demolished the houses on the spot, he didn’t want any chance of them coming back. That’s the kind of situation you’re dealing with when you commit to turning a block around.
The Hidden Challenges: Lots and Replatting
One of the biggest obstacles isn’t the renovation itself, it’s the red tape. There are a number of extra lots in this area that still look rough because they’re overgrown and unmaintained, and we’ve been trying to buy them all. A lot of it had been owned by one person for years who simply wasn’t interested in selling.
On top of that, some of these lots aren’t easily buildable as-is. When you try to replat lots to reorient or combine them, the city can require the developer to make current improvements almost as if you were doing a brand-new development. In our case, that would mean half-street improvements, things like underground storm drains, curb, and gutter, which get extremely expensive when you’re only talking about two or three lots. Sometimes the numbers just don’t work, and you have to find another approach, like building duplexes that face an existing street instead.
Why It’s Worth It
Despite all of that, this kind of project is some of the most rewarding work we do. There’s a real community impact when builders commit to a block instead of just flipping one house and leaving. You take properties that were dragging an area down and turn them into clean, well-maintained homes that people are proud to live in. It’s harder and slower than building in an easy neighborhood, but the upside, both financially and for the community, can be significant.
At Apex Professional Construction, we take on value-add renovation and redevelopment projects across Central Arkansas, including the tough ones most people avoid. If you’ve got a property or an area you think has hidden potential, give us a call at 501-850-6364 or request a quote.