Real Deals: Walmart inks lease agreement for 90,000 SF office building in Bentonville

2303 Southeast J Street LLC has picked up a three-year funding agreement worth $24.8 million from WM Capital Partners, an equity fund that maintains dual headquarters in New York City and Austin, Texas.

The financing, in conjunction with Paragould-based First National Bank, is backing construction of a 90,000-square-foot office building at 2303 S.E. J St. in Bentonville.

The three-story building will be the anchor property of a 15-acre commercial real estate development called RedBird.

Ramsay Ball of Bentonville manages 2303 Southeast J Street, the project owner. Mitchell Massey is WM Capital Partners’ operating partner in Northwest Arkansas, where its holdings include buildings, land and non-performing loans.

C.R. Crawford Construction of Fayetteville is the general contractor. Miller Boskus Lack Architects, with offices in Fayetteville and Bentonville, is the project architect. Morrison Shipley, with offices in Fort Smith and Bentonville, is the civil engineer.

Ball would not disclose the tenant, however, according to property records, 2303 Southeast J Street has executed a lease memorandum with Walmart Inc. A spokeswoman for the company said Walmart will lease all of the new building as temporary office space for its training and development teams, plus a “few hundred” additional employees, who all now work at the Sam Walton Development Complex on Southeast 10th Street in Bentonville.

The relocation to RedBird is part of the shuffling Walmart needs to do in order to prepare for construction of a new corporate campus in Bentonville. As part of that master development plan, several buildings in the approximately 350-acre footprint will be razed, including the Sam Walton Development Complex.

Ball said RedBird has additional land that will be developed for commercial use in the future: a 1.72-acre lot with J Street frontage and a 3.55-acre lot on Otis Corley Drive. Cignus Real Estate of Bentonville, a new company Ball formed, is handling RedBird’s leasing and sales.

2303 Southeast J Street assembled 11.5 acres for the RedBird development earlier this year in two separate deals totaling $2.61 million. Havermeyer Holdings ($1.94 million) and Sierra Plaza LLC ($669,000) were the sellers. An additional 3.5 acres north of Otis Corley Drive is under contract.

PINNACLE RESIDENCE
A 4,950-square-foot home in Phase II of the gated Pinnacle subdivision in Rogers recently sold for $759,900. The purchase price equals $153.51 per square foot.

Tiffany and Nicholas Quast bought the four-bedroom home on South Windsor Drive from Scott and Karen Klane.

Arvest Bank provided financing. Lenders Title Co. in Bentonville was the title agent. Ginger Harrell with Coldwell Banker Harris McHaney Faucette in Rogers represented the seller.

The home was built in 2007 on a 0.5-acre lot and appraised last year for $783,150. Klane paid $662,000 for the property in May 2013.

CHAPEL VIEW ABODE
A 4,552-square-foot home in Fayetteville’s Chapel View subdivision recently sold for $725,000.

Jess H. Daniel bought the five-bedroom home on Chapel View Drive. The purchase price equals $159.27 per square foot. JHMC Property Investments LLC, managed by Michael Chung, was the seller.

Arvest Bank provided financing. Lindsey Clark with Collier & Associates in Fayetteville was the listing agent. Shannon Marti with Lindsey & Associates in Fayetteville was the selling agent.

The home was built in 2016 and last sold in August 2018 for $639,000. Lauren Wilkins and Lance Stokes were the sellers.

Wilkins and Stokes paid $610,842 for the 1.78-acre property in October 2016. Riggins Construction Inc. was the seller.

HUGHMOUNT HOLDINGS
Three vacant residential lots totaling 3.4 acres in Fayetteville recently sold for $600,000. The purchase price equals $4.05 per square foot.

North Hughmount LLC, registered to Fayetteville lawyer Craig Jones, bought the property on East Rockwood Trail from the Chuck Chalfant Trust.

City Title & Closing in Fayetteville was the title agent. Kelly Weir with Platinum Properties of NWA in Springdale was the seller’s agent.

EMERGENT PROPERTY
Adriana Burnett, through her Emergent Property Development LLC, has picked up a 21-year funding agreement worth $592,950. The loan was arranged through Ben Brantmeier at BancorpSouth Bank in Rogers.

The mortgage is backing the development of a 4,700-square-foot commercial building at 109 S.E. 14th St. (Arkansas Highway 102) in Bentonville, at the corner of Benton Street.

The developer broke ground on the project Aug. 15. Ellingson Contracting of Siloam Springs is the general contractor. Randall Hurban with Hight Jackson Associates in Rogers is the architect.

David Erstine with CBRE in Fayetteville is marketing the property.

HISTORIC RESIDENCE
An updated residence in Fayetteville’s Washington-Willow neighborhood has a new owner after a recent sale worth $512,980.

Sterling and Anne Hamilton bought the four-bedroom home on East Prospect Street. The Kimberly Flanery Coats Trust was the seller.

Signature Bank of Arkansas provided financing and Waco Title Co. was the title agent. Katie Mihalevich with Coldwell Banker Harris McHaney Faucette in Fayetteville was the listing agent.

The home was originally built in the 1860s. The property last changed hands in October 2008 for $259,000.

WAREHOUSE SALE
A 2.72-acre industrial property in Siloam Springs changed hands recently for $500,000.

Warehouse Space LLC, registered to Jim Bob Duggar, bought the former Allen Canning Co. plant/warehouse at 1121 E. Jefferson St. The purchase price for the 93,943-square-foot building equals $5.32 per square foot.

Sager Creek Foods Inc. was the seller.

Waco Title Co. of Springdale was the title agent. Wade Smith and Butch Gurganus of Colliers International in Rogers represented the seller.

The single-story building was built in 1972.