75,000-square-foot office building in works next to Arkansas Children’s in Springdale

by Paul Gatling ([email protected]) 4,212 views 

Plans to build a 75,000-square-foot office building next to the just-opened Arkansas Children’s Northwest west of Interstate 49 have been filed with the city of Springdale.

The 9-acre lot is north of the hospital along Gene George Boulevard (formerly South 56th Street) and is owned by C.L. George and Sons LP, a partnership made of George’s Inc. chairman Gary George and his sister, Cathy (George) Evans.

The George siblings are children of Gene George, the former chairman of George’s who died in December 2010 from complications due to cancer. He was 88. At its regularly scheduled meeting May 9, 2017, the Springdale City Council voted to rename the portion of South 56th Street from Don Tyson Parkway northward to Bleaux Avenue to honor the late poultry magnate.

The large-scale development plan has been approved by Springdale city planners. It’s not clear whether George’s will occupy the building or lease it to other tenants. Matt Brown, vice president of real estate development and gas at George’s, said on Friday (March 2) he had no additional comment about the project.

Nabholz Construction in Rogers — the same contractor used for the hospital — is listed as the general contractor, according to the plans, and Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects is the building designer.

Engineers involved include McClelland Consulting Engineering of Fayetteville, Myers-Beatty Engineering of Van Buren and TME LLC Consulting Engineers of Little Rock.

Access and visibility to Interstate 49 continue to draw large-scale projects to the area west of the interstate between U.S. Highway 412 and Don Tyson Parkway.

About a mile north of the hospital on Gene George Boulevard is Sam’s Club, which opened May 25 last year.

Northwest Arkansas developers announced in October a $180 million commercial project called Parkway Plaza, at the southeast corner of Don Tyson Parkway and Gene George Boulevard. Sage Partners of Rogers and Griffin Co. Realtors of Springdale are leading the development of the 27-acre project, less than a mile south of Arvest Ballpark and the Arkansas Children’s Northwest campus.

The city has also approved a plan to widen and extend South 56th Street from the roundabout on Don Tyson Parkway south to Johnson Mill Boulevard in Johnson. The design work is expected to be completed later this year.