Last updated: October 5, 2026
Article
Case Study – Veterans Administration Hospital Building, Little Rock, Arkansas
NPS
The rehabilitation of a former 400,000-square-foot Veterans Administration (VA) Hospital converted the long-vacant building into over 200 apartments as part of the largest historic tax credit rehabilitation project ever completed in Arkansas.
Built between 1948 and 1950, the 11-story VA hospital is one of state’s most significant examples of International Style institutional architecture and an early example of the expansion of the VA hospital system in the United States after World War II. The building features a distinctive Y-shaped footprint that maximized natural light and views for patients. Following the VA’s relocation to a new medical center in 1984, the building experienced decades of changing ownership, disinvestment, and vacancy.
The rehabilitation retained the hospital’s defining midcentury character and architectural elements, including the main lobby with its chrome-clad columns, terrazzo flooring, tile wainscotting, and other features. Replacement ribbon windows restored the building’s original appearance, and features such as the wide corridors typical of a hospital were retained as part of the project.
The building includes commercial office spaces as well as amenity spaces for the residents, complete with a pool, sauna, fitness center, pickleball court, yoga room, and a “gear garage,” where outdoor equipment like bicycles, tents, and hiking gear can be rented. Through rehabilitation and renewal, the spirit of health and wellness remains at the former VA Hospital.