TAGGART’s Argenta headquarters (Photo provided by TAGGART)
Brandon Ruhl, one of the managing partners at TAGGART Architects in North Little Rock, succinctly summarized the firm’s 50th anniversary, which it celebrates in 2025.
“Fifty years means we are doing it right,” he said. “It also means to me that what we are doing is sustainable for years to come.”
Doing something right, indeed. Since its founding by Burt Taggart Jr. in 1975, the firm has stamped its mark on schools, hospitals, office buildings and other iconic projects throughout its hometown, as well as across the state and even the country.
The firm has been a driving force behind the revitalization of the Argenta Arts District in downtown North Little Rock, where TAGGART now calls home after 25 years at its original location just off the city’s main retail hub.
From the roof of the firm’s building at 600 Main St. in Argenta, designed and built to serve as its new headquarters, several iconic structures that help define the area and are TAGGART projects can be seen — Argenta Plaza, the First Orion building, Simmons Bank Arena, Dickey-Stephens Park, the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub and Argenta Contemporary Theatre.
“The firm has remained successful and healthy throughout the decades thanks to the vision of our leadership, our commitment to our clients and a will for excellence in the profession,” Ruhl said. “Architectural practice is just that — it’s practice. Architects only get better the more that they practice, and with 50 years under our belt, we are very confident in our abilities.”
The firm is proud of its North Little Rock roots not only as home but as a project catalyst that propelled the company to casting a wider net. One is hard-pressed to point out a major project in Dogtown that does not bear TAGGART’s imprint, and they have all served to advance the company’s reputation and attract work in other markets in Arkansas and beyond.
“We are now licensed in 32 states thanks to repeat clients who want TAGGART to serve all their projects,” Ruhl said. “Over the years, we have strategically diversified our portfolio of project types. It is intriguing to find ways to apply lessons learned in one type of project to a completely different challenge. Change is inevitable, and we intend to evolve while staying true to our core values.”
TAGGART’s portfolio is diverse. The firm made its hay in the realms of health care and education until landing then-Alltel Arena, now Simmons Bank Arena, a major turning point that drove the company’s stake in the realm of auditorium design.
Today, the company’s work throughout the Natural State includes design and renovation work on numerous projects for Unity Health and CHI St. Vincent Health System. On the educational front, TAGGART has done extensive work with the North Little Rock School District, as well as the University of Central Arkansas in Conway and the Little Rock and North Little Rock campuses of University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College.
“Some projects just have fun concepts,” said Bram Keahey, another managing partner. “Of my 33 years at TAGGART Architects, the [Arkansas State University] Welcome Center/Centennial Bank branch in Jonesboro may be my favorite design project. Centennial Bank made an investment in the A-State campus by designing a building to be a campus hub and reflect the spirit of the university. The concept was ‘building as logo,’ and I love that.”
Outside Arkansas, a mere sampling of projects includes the Cleveland Clinic Edwin Shaw Rehabilitation Hospital in Ohio and Select Medical rehabilitation hospitals in St. Louis and Las Vegas. No matter where the company operates or in what industry sector, leadership said the fundamental approach of listening first is the same.
“Rarely are we the experts on any given project. Instead, it is our clients who bring their expertise and innovative thinking to flavor each project,” said James Meyer, managing partner. “Our job is to be creative problem solvers who shape our client’s goals and ideas into buildings and spaces. Our culture of listening embraces the challenge of solving problems in novel ways that match our clients’ individual character. “
Launched as Burt Taggart and Associates, Architects, in 1975, the original office was located on Burrow Drive near the intersection of U.S. 67/167 and McCain Boulevard in North Little Rock. The firm name changed to Taggart, Foster, Currence, Gray Architects in 1991 to reflect shareholder changes, and the current TAGGART stylization was adopted in 2006.
Mike Callahan, firm partner, said the company experienced some lean years early on as it established itself, but the quality of its work stood out.
“The firm’s size expanded and contracted over the years in response to the economy and the number of projects that we had,” he said. “The firm expanded and got larger when we gained a national hospital client and started doing projects all over the country. Many years later, we essentially outgrew our original office space and constructed a new office addition to upgrade and house more staff.”
That growth led company leadership to the then-blossoming Argenta district. The now-bustling neighborhood was just starting to come into its own when TAGGART began work at 600 Main St., but when the building opened in 2020, the project pushed the neighborhood from a place of potential to the stylish entertainment and business district it is today. Callahan said the firm considered the move for years, calling its still-sparkling three-story headquarters a “dream come true.”
“I don’t know how many times we attempted to move, but economic conditions prohibited it from actually happening,” he said. “Things finally fell into place in 2018 and 2019 with the Argenta Plaza and First Orion building projects that really jump-started the Argenta development and our new office.”
Bill Gray, retired president, CEO, shareholder and still practicing as chairman emeritus, said the original plans called for a single-story building.
“We added stories to accommodate requests,” he said. “We kind of stuck our neck out a little bit and took a financial risk. We did our building, Argenta Plaza and the First Orion building at the same time. It’s cool seeing our projects have that big of an impact at one time.”
Argenta became more than just an address; it was also a palette with which the company plied its trade, helping revitalize the neighborhood while putting its best work on display.
“As architects, we are students of cities and their design,” Meyer said. “Great cities ‘breathe.’ They are flexible and react to the changes around them over time. It was amazing to see two gravel parking lots transform into Argenta Plaza, world-class public spaces and mixed-use buildings.
“Now we are working with Mayor Terry Hartwick on the next big step on Main Street with the North Little Rock Event Center. After that, we only have to look out the window to dream about what could happen next.”
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