Former Clarion Inn in Fayetteville demolished, Little Rock developer prepping site for mixed use

A vacant hotel near Interstate 49 in Fayetteville has been torn down to make way for a new mixed-use development called Shiloh Crossings.

The 197-room hotel at 1255 S. Shiloh Drive — frequently referred to as the former Clarion Hotel — was an 81,098-SF property opened originally in 1986. It had been closed since the spring of 2015, when it was operating as a Grand Hotel.

The 7.05-acre property is owned by TSSD LLC, which is a subsidiary of the Razorback Foundation, the nonprofit organization that serves as the private fundraising arm of the University of Arkansas athletics department.

The hotel and land were donated to the foundation in June 2016 by H&C Fayetteville Clarion LLC, an affiliate of Fort Smith-based Hobbs & Curry Family LP, an investment conglomerate centered on hotel ownership that recovered the Clarion Hotel at auction in March 2016.

Hobbs & Curry previously owned the property for several years until 2012, when it was sold to JGHG LLC — which listed Jasdeep Grewal as the registered agent — and Charles Wilkerson for $1.5 million. The hotel struggled financially after that, including bankruptcy, and was reflagged twice, first as Guesthouse International Inn & Suites in 2013 and later to Grand Hotel.

Razorback Foundation executive director Scott Varady said the foundation has leased the property on a short-term basis to Little Rock-based development firm Commercial Realty LLC. Commercial Realty broker Tyler Wilson said the company will eventually exercise its option to purchase the property at the end of the lease term.

“We’ve had several calls and inquiries about the site and things are moving forward,” said Wilson, a former quarterback at the University of Arkansas. “Our vision is to clean that area up and find some long-term tenants that can be positive for Fayetteville moving forward.”

An official with the Fayetteville Planning Department said there is no development plan for the site on file. A lot split into two parcels — one for 4.2 acres and another for 2.8 acres — was approved in October, but has not been officially recorded.

The only permit on file with the city was for the building demolition and site grading.

Wilson said the 2.8-acre lot on the north end of the property is under contract to a medical-based user. He said the 4.2-acre lot is being marketed as either a build-to-suit or long-term ground lease.

According to the Washington County assessor’s office, the most recent appraisal of the hotel was $3.1 million in 2015.