Plant property changes hands

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art has closed on the purchase of the property it plans to redevelop in Bentonville.

The museum paid $1.52 million for the former Kraft Foods cheese plant at 507 S.E. E St. The site is 1.5 miles south of Crystal Bridges. Museum officials announced plans in the spring to convert the space into an addition to the museum campus, though the venue will have its own name and identity. Nothing official has been announced to that end, although “The Plant” has been the working name of the project.

Food Hub NWA LLC, an entity affiliated with Walton Enterprises Inc., was the seller. Food Hub paid $1.45 million for the development in July 2014.

The plant is comprised of several buildings on 6.6 acres that altogether make up about 65,000 square feet. The museum also owns an adjacent 9 acres to the east of the Kraft facility.

“We’re excited to move forward with the development of a new arts venue that will fold into an inspiring downtown experience and position Northwest Arkansas as a unique arts and cultural destination,” Crystal Bridges Executive Director Rod Bigelow wrote in an email. “We’ve recently begun a national search for someone to guide the leadership team into the next phase of planning and development.”

The project has a target completion date of early 2019.