Walton brothers will pay $60M for existing Walmart corporate campus in Bentonville

A limited liability company owned by Steuart Walton, a director of Walmart Inc., and his younger brother Tom Walton will pay $60 million to acquire the existing Walmart corporate campus location at Eighth Street and Walton Boulevard in Bentonville.

The Walton brothers mentioned the deal on April 6 during a corporate event to preview two of the amenity buildings at the retail giant’s new corporate campus under construction in Bentonville.

Walmart disclosed the purchase price in a statement on April 15.

The new corporate campus is still a few years away from completion, so an ownership change for the existing campus is not imminent. Walmart’s new headquarters is being built on the east side of Southeast J Street, bordered by Arkansas Highway 102 to the south and Arkansas Highway 72 (Central Avenue) to the north. The site covers approximately 350 acres.

Walmart’s current headquarters covers approximately 65 acres and has grown since first established by Sam Walton in the early 1970s. Under the terms of the property sale agreement, the closing for specific parcels of land, with the purchase price of $9 million, will occur in fiscal 2023. The closing for the remaining parcels of land, with an appraised purchase price at the time of the signing of the agreement of approximately $51 million, including Walmart’s Home Office buildings, is expected to occur in fiscal 2025 or later when Walmart moves to its new headquarters under construction in Bentonville.

According to Walmart, the retailer will sell the property to ABN Holdings LLC, which the Walton brothers own.

“Walmart expects the sale of the initial properties closing in fiscal 2023 and the sale of the remainder of the properties closing in fiscal 2025 or later to result in a gain on sale to the company on a net basis at the time of each respective closing,” the retailer said in a statement.

Plans for the property’s use have not been decided. Blue Crane is the real estate acquisition and development arm of Runway Group, a diversified holding company based in Bentonville and led by the Walton brothers. They are the grandsons of Walmart founder Sam Walton and the sons of Arvest Bank Group Inc. chairman and CEO Jim Walton.

Some of Blue Crane’s notable Northwest Arkansas projects include 8th Street Market, Skylight Cinema, Crystal Flats, City U, The Record, Traveling Public and Blake St. House.

A Blue Crane spokesman said the company would seek community input on how to develop the former Walmart campus over the next several years.