Former newspaper office in downtown Bentonville to become an event space

The former Benton County Daily Record office at 104 S.W. A St., in downtown Bentonville is being renovated into a new event space, according to RopeSwing Hospitality Group.

The building is owned by Record Properties LLC which purchased it from Northwest Arkansas Newspapers for $700,000 Nov. 29, 2012, according to county records.

The 12,000 square-foot event space will be known as Record and offer a downtown meeting space for businesses and events as early as October. Construction and renovation is slated to begin this month, though the only permit filed with the city as of Tuesday was an electrical permit.

Rob Apple, managing director for RopeSwing, said Tuesday (April 12) the project should be completed in October, but declined to give details on construction costs. Apple said It will have a private kitchen area as well as full audio/visual capabilities.

“Bentonville’s rapid growth has created demand for flexible spaces that can be utilized for business meetings, private events and entertainment,” Apple said. “Record is part of our efforts to support high quality events and entertainment in our hometown and we think its a great size for the downtown Bentonville area.”

The group said two events have already been confirmed for the space this fall: The Made by Few Conference, Oct. 26-29, and events associated with the 2016 International Mountain Biking Association World Summit, Nov. 10-12, which is taking place in Bentonville.

Apple said the group is planning to announce more details and provide a rendering of the finished project in June, along with information on how to rent the space. Since the newspaper relocated from the space various groups have used it on temporary basis. The Bentonville Film Festival used it as a ticket office last year and Kiwanians Club set up there to distribute food baskets during the Christmas holidays in 2014.