HomeMy WebLinkAboutCover Letter 011924► . Trinity
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Value Beyond What You See with TIP
January 16, 2024
Planning Commission
Department of Planning and Development
723 West Markham
Little Rock, AR 72201
Dear Commissioners:
My name is Traftin Thompson, Jr. and I'm submitting this cover letter on behalf of the Thompson
family in our effort to have our family home rezoned to allow us to convert it to a duplex as it's currently
zoned as R3 — Conditional Use.
Our family owns 3 contiguous lots within the Sydney J. Johnson subdivision at the intersection of
Peyton and 17' Streets in the Hope Community of Little Rock. We own a 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom single
family home at 4319 W. 17' Street and a 5-bedroom, 3-bathroom single family home next door at 4323 W.
17' Street.
Our desire is to convert the 4323 W. 17'i' Street property into a duplex and invest significant capital
into rehabbing the property and ultimately positioning it as a long-term rental, just as 4319 W. 17'i' Street is
being used in that capacity now. As it stands, the 4323 property has an extended driveway and a covered
carport that can comfortably park 6 vehicles. Additionally, there's a sizeable, paved area that serves as a
small basketball court on the southwest side of 4323 that has been used for additional parking at times when
we have had large gatherings at the properties, if more than 6 cars were required.
To provide a bit of context and property history, these properties have been in our family since my
grandparents built the property that's currently at 4319 in 1936, then moved it from lot 6 to lot 4 and built
4323 on lots 5 and 6 in 1960.
My grandparents, S. F. Thompson and E. C. Thompson were both educators with master's and
bachelor's degrees in the 1930's and 1940's, which was not common for blacks during that era. My
grandfather was a Principal in the Pulaski County school system and an entrepreneur while my grandmother
was an elementary school teacher. They were extremely active in the community, were devoted members
of Mt. Zion Baptist Church of Little Rock and raised their family of 6 children (Bobbie Jean, S. Frank, Jr.,
GraCetta, Morris, Traftin, Sr. and Pinkie) in the two houses at 4319 and 4323.
AN&
President
(404) 946-8733 (0)
(404) 276-9191 (C)
traftin@tippropertiesllc.com
1220 E. Northside Drive #170-135
Jackson, MS 39211
► . Trinity
Investment
Properties
Value Beyond What You See with TIP
Upon my grandparents' passing in 1974, my aunts, uncles and father rented the 4319 property
primarily to family members while the 4323 property served as the primary residence for my late uncle,
Judge Morris Thompson, his late wife, Minnie Thompson and their 3 boys (Nnamdi, Cameroun and Aron)
from 1980 until he recently passed on Thanksgiving Day of 2023. Prior to his passing, our family had been
discussing how best to preserve the properties and position them for their highest and best use.
In 2020, S. F. & E. C.'s descendants formed a family trust and placed 4319 and 4323 W. 17'h Street
into an LLC named Thompson, Evans, Morris, McFarland Properties, LLC (TEMM) in honor of my
grandparents and their legacy. While property related decisions are a group effort within our family, taking
the lead on managing our family properties and overseeing the rehab are myself and my cousin Aron
Thompson. Aron is the Executive Director for the Real Estate Development (R.E.D.) Academy for the
Urban League of Middle Tennessee and is an architect by trade. I have been in commercial real estate since
2004 and am President of Trinity Investment Properties, LLC and possess several commercial real estate
designations including the CCIM, CMCA, LEED Green Associate and will obtain the CPM certification in
April, 2024. Immediately prior to starting Trinity Investment Properties, I was a Senior Property Manager
at Walmart, Inc., where I was responsible for managing all real estate aspects of a large portfolio of Walmart
stores from 2014 — 2020.
As I hope to have conveyed, we have a great amount of pride in our family properties, have no
intention of selling them and plan on investing significant capital in both properties to help enhance them,
add value, and hope to help rejuvenate the neighborhood that has served as our family's home base since
1936. Additionally, we are looking at other properties within the Hope Community to also rehabilitate in
hopes to return the neighborhood to an area that would make my late grandparents proud.
In closing, our desire is for the Planning and Development Commissioners to help us achieve these
objectives by allowing for the rezoning of 4323 W. 17th Street to be converted into a duplex and to be used
for long-term rentals.
Best Regards,
Traftin Thor pson
Member, Thompson, Evans, Morris, McFarland Properties LLC
President
(404) 946-8733 (0)
(404) 276-9191 (C)
traftin@tippropertiesllc.com
1220 E. Northside Drive #170-135
Jackson, MS 39211