Highlands Oncology Group secures land for Springdale expansion

by Paul Gatling ([email protected]) 2,550 views 

A commercial land sale west of Interstate 49 in Springdale registered $1.65 million.

Springdale-based Highlands Oncology Group, through its Metaphase I LLC, bought the 4.47-acre lot in the Parkway Plaza development, at the southeast corner of Don Tyson Parkway and Gene George Boulevard. The purchase price equals $8.49 per square foot. Southwest Springdale Forty-Nine LLC, led by Todd Wood, was the seller.

Cushman & Wakefield/Sage Partners in Rogers and Griffin Co. Realtors of Springdale brokered the deal. City Title & Closing of Fayetteville was the title agent.

The land is adjacent to the west of Highlands Oncology Group’s new 125,000-square-foot medical office building at 3901 Parkway Circle. It opened this past August and is the first building in Parkway Plaza.

Highlands also acquired a 3.96-acre lot north of its new building this past November for $2.35 million. The purchase price equals $13.62 per square foot. DTP West Corner LLC, led by Brian Moore and Tim Mays, was the seller.

“Our acquisition of the lots both west and north of our Springdale cancer center really position us well to be able to continue bringing world-class care to Northwest Arkansas,” Highlands Oncology Group CEO Jeff Hunnicutt said. “From projects as simple as adding parking to complexities of proton therapy and other innovative additions to healthcare in this growing market, we see our Springdale development as a vital component to helping people have access to the care they need while staying close to home.”

Hunnicutt said last year something that is very much on the horizon for HOG is proton therapy, a type of radiation therapy not yet offered in Northwest Arkansas. According to the Mayo Clinic, radiation therapy using X-rays has long been used to treat cancers and noncancerous (benign) tumors. Proton therapy is a newer type of radiation therapy that uses energy from positively charged particles called protons.

“We have designs that are in place and plans pending for [bringing] proton therapy to Northwest Arkansas,” Hunnicutt said. “Putting in proton [therapy] right now, for this region, would be too early. There are not enough patients to support it. But it’s a long process to get it in place. That’s why we have started on it right now. We’re committed to bringing it to Northwest Arkansas.”

Highlands is a group of independent physicians specializing in medical oncology, radiation oncology, palliative care and specialty surgery. It originated in 1996 with medical oncologists Thaddeus Beck, Daniel Bradford and Malcolm Hayward and is one of the most extensive cancer treatment and research centers in Arkansas, with approximately 450 employees. Among its 20 physicians are 11 medical oncologists, three radiation oncologists, two palliative care doctors and five surgeons in various specialties.