Feb 19, 2026
At Hugg & Hall Mobile Storage, we do more than deliver shipping containers and jobsite offices in Arkansas. We also customize containers into versatile, innovative spaces capable of far more than most people expect. When used thoughtfully, a customized container can support business, spark creativity, and create places where people connect.
Shipping containers offer flexible, affordable solutions for pop-up retail, art studios, classrooms, community hubs, and micro-business incubators. Their durability and compact footprint make them a practical option for entrepreneurs who want to test ideas, build visibility, and generate revenue without taking on the cost and commitment of traditional brick-and-mortar development. And honestly, that is why we think containers are cool.
We are not the only ones who see the potential containers offer for strengthening local economies and engaging communities through creative design. Last year, StudioMAIN, in partnership with the City of Little Rock and a broad group of community stakeholders, reached out to HHMS about becoming a partner in an upcoming project called Beyond the Divide. This nationally recognized initiative is focused on reimagining the future of historic West Ninth Street. district in downtown Little Rock.
Even after decades of disinvestment, the significance of West Ninth Street never disappeared. In 2008, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center reopened on the original site of the Mosaic Templars of America national headquarters at the corner of Broadway and West Ninth Street. Its return restored a powerful presence to the corridor. Today, the Center serves as a hub for education, cultural preservation, and community engagement. Through exhibitions and programming, it celebrates African American contributions in Arkansas while continuing to tell the story of the historic district.
Project organizers behind Beyond the Divide have leaned into the history. They are working alongside the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center and other community partners to honor the past while vision casting new possibilities for the corridor’s future.
The funding supports a quick-build demonstration that allows residents, designers, and city leaders to test ideas in real time. Rather than waiting years for permanent redevelopment, the project will bring visible change to West Ninth Street now.
At the center of the initiative will be a month-long modular business district built with HHMS shipping containers serving as storefronts. During that time, West Ninth Street will be activated through a mix of food, retail, and public art, bringing real economic activity back to the corridor. The people-focused design strategies StudioMAIN will employ align with the City of Little Rock’s Downtown Master Plan.
The project emphasizes placemaking, honors history and creates reasons for people to return, linger and engage with the street again. It offers an opportunity to experience what reconnection could look like and to build confidence for community leaders in what long-term investment might become.
Beyond the Divide stands out as a meaningful community project in downtown Little Rock, and HHMS is excited to play a key role. This initiative is not about a single installation or a short-term event. It is about showing how modular shipping container infrastructure can serve as a flexible tool for community leadership and economic growth.
Hugg & Hall Mobile Storage is proud to support Beyond the Divide by demonstrating how shipping containers and modular units can activate underused areas, support small businesses, and encourage public engagement, especially in our own backyard.
For HHMS, Beyond the Divide reinforces what we believe about containers. They are not only tools for storage or temporary offices. They are tools for connection, creativity, and community growth. When used thoughtfully, they help cities test what is possible and build momentum for lasting change.
