Garland Center Brings ‘Holistic’ Appeal to UA

Construction in the northwest corner of the University of Arkansas campus in recent years “displaced a bunch of parking and added a bunch of tenants,” associate vice chancellor for business David Martinson said.

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Add the fact about 80 percent of traffic coming onto campus flows along Garland Avenue – the northwest corridor – and the decision to build a parking structure was a no-brainer.

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“But we didn’t want a big, imposing parking structure to be the first thing those people see,” Martinson said.

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Thus, the mixed-use Garland Center was born. The structure contains not just 1,500 parking spaces, but a 32,000-SF space that houses the school bookstore and another 20,000 SF of private, ground-level retail space.

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The bottom floor of the bookstore contains a consumer retail-style bookstore, a Razorbacks apparel shop, Peet’s Coffee and Tea shop, and a computer store featuring Apple, HP and Dell products. Upstairs, there is a Clinique counter and Office Max store complementing a traditional campus bookstore.

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Alan Cole, a broker at Colliers International in Bentonville, manages the private retail space, which includes 3 Spoons Yogurt, belle boutique, and a soon-to-open – and first of its kind – Walmart pharmacy. Maven Salon also is expected to open in January, while a national sub-sandwich chain could follow later in the first quarter.

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Cole said rate negotiations start at $20 per-SF.

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“Having the opportunity to affiliate with the University of Arkansas is huge, especially a unique project like this one,” Cole said. “It’s a feather-in-the-cap project.”

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Martinson said the project serves a higher, “holistic” purpose, too, as studies have shown retention and graduation rates are higher when students have more of their needs met on-campus.

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“We do believe we’re at the forefront of planning and building the campus in a way that serves the campus community in the best possible way,” Martinson said.