Polo Comes to the Prairie

Construction continues on the first building in the Polo Park business complex between Bentonville and Highfill. Kevin Bird of Turnkey Advisors LLC in Dallas is the developer of the $1.5 million building located near the intersection of Old Farm Road and Southwest Airport Boulevard.

Space will lease from $12 to $15 per finished SF, and the 30,000-SF building is expected to be completed by the end of September.

Because the space is designed to be finished out for office or warehouse/ showroom-type use, Bird said the price per SF is flexible.

Perry Butcher of Perry Butcher & Associates in Rogers is the architect and engineer on the project, and MDH Builders of Fayetteville is the general contractor.

It is one of five buildings that will be constructed on a 14-acre parcel in of the 300-acre tract of land that will be known as the Polo Park. Long-term plans call for a mixed-use development that will include office and retail space, as well as 700 apartment units and a few hotels. The land will be built out during the next seven to 10 years.

The development is backed by about a dozen investors from Dallas who do business as The Old Farm LLC, Razorback Industrial LLC and San Miguel LLC. The development has been funded without bank financing.

Michael Horn, managing member of San Miguel LLC and The Old Farm LLC, refused to divulge the purchase price of the land. Benton County warranty deed records under several LLC names account for 234 acres that he bought from Lee Harris Farms Inc., J.L. Harris Family Limited Partnership, and Jimmy Harris and Sherry Harris for a combined $6.7 million.

Dixie Eyes New Complex

Dr. John A. Billingsley III recently broke ground on a 9,100-SF office and surgical center at the intersection of 48th and Levine streets in Springdale. Billingsley Eye Practice & Ozark Laser and Surgery Center will occupy space in the 16,000-SF office complex that is being built by Dixie Construction and will be leased to tenants by Dixie Development.

Billingsley said he will purchase the land covered by the office space after the building is complete. The office is valued at $2 million with the future purchase of the land included in the price. Billingsley, who runs an ophthalmology practice, currently has offices in Springdale and Siloam Springs.

Don Mobley of Mobley Architects in Fayetteville is the architect, and Steve Clark with Clark Consulting of Fayetteville is the lead engineer. The remaining office space will lease from $15 per finished SF. 48th Street LLC, led by Ben Israel of Dixie Development, is the developer of the complex. The group purchased the 9.6-acre parcel of land for $2.3 million from Numar Group LLC in 2002.

Community Bank of Northwest Arkansas is financing the construction and the land purchase. The building is expected to be complete in January 2004.

Coventry Sold for Coveted Sum

Coventry Properties LLC recently purchased the 40-unit Coventry Meadows complex for $2.3 million from Coventry Meadows LLC. The six-acre complex off of Persimmon Street in Rogers ranges from single-story one-car-garage duplex units to six-plex units.

Clay Carlton and Mitchell Massey, owners of Coventry Properties, bought the complex from Collins Haynes and Bill Schwyhart of Rogers.

Arvest Bank of Fayetteville financed the purchase. The 1,050 units rent for about $600 per month and are two-bedrooms with one-and-a-half baths. Coventry Meadows was built in 1999. The new owners said they do not yet plan to expand the complex.

Mexican Addition Cracks Walnut

Food Concepts International has begun construction on a new Mexican restaurant at 4005 W. Walnut St. in Rogers.

Abuelo’s Mexican Food Embassy will serve upscale Mexican fare and is expected to be complete Nov. 15. ICI Construction Inc. of Dallas is the general contractor on the project.

John Wheeler Architecture is the architect with Jerry Kelso of Crafton & Tull in Rogers as the engineer. The 8,100-SF structure has a permit value of $1 million.

Abuelo’s is a chain with nine locations in Texas, two in Oklahoma and two in Arizona. The restaurant will seat 240 people, will employ an estimated 60 people and is expected to open in December.

Food Concepts purchased the 1.3-acre parcel of land on June 20 for $872,000 from Tall Grass Development Inc.

M.O.R. Rooms Land on Leverett

More apartments will be added at 2176 and 2182 North Leverett Avenue in Fayetteville.

M.O.R. LLC of Helena is the developer of the apartments. Henry K. Jordan Sr. is the sole owner of the company. Jordan and wife Murray Rasberry Jordan manage the entity. Rasberry Place, situated on 1.1 acres, will have 24 units with 16 units in one building and eight in the other. Atlas Construction of Fayetteville is the general contractor on the project, and Rick Butram of Rogers is the architect and engineer.

All 20,000 SF of space will be two-bedroom units at 850 SF per unit. The project is scheduled to be completed Dec. 15.

Rasberry Properties is part of the Jordan family companies that have more than 250 apartment units in Fayetteville and have been in business here for 40 years.

Other Jordan properties include Leverett Garden Apartments, Maria H. Apartments and Maria II. Leverett Avenue North will be extended 90 feet to accommodate the new apartments. Commercial Bank and Trust of Memphis will finance the construction of the units with building permits at $977,976.

M.O.R. LLC has held the property since 1984 when the deed was transferred to Murray Jordan from her father upon his death.

Prairie Apartments Reach New Heights

Massey Holdings LLC recently completed a new apartment building in the existing Prairie Heights complex at 203 S. Baggett in Prairie Grove. The 12 two-bedroom units will be 800 SF each. The new structure is an addition to the complex that was built in 1980 that includes 100 mini-storage units and another apartment building with 600-SF one-bedroom units. Massey Holdings was the general contractor for the project that had $450,000 in construction costs.

Jim Key of Key Architecture in Fayetteville was the architect and also coordinated the engineering for the building. Massey purchased the property in 2002 from Duane and Carol Canfield for $425,000.

United Bank’s Fayetteville branch financed the purchase and construction.