Loloft taps Mary Best to spearhead national expansion efforts

Northwest Arkansas commercial real estate startup Loloft has hired Mary Best to lead the company’s national expansion efforts. Best previously worked at the Ledger office building in downtown Bentonville as director of operations and workplace strategy.

Loloft co-founder and CEO Brendan Howell said Best will lead the development team in charge of launching operations at new Loloft facilities across the country. Loloft has locations in downtown Rogers and Phoenix and is planning to open four more locations this year in Tampa, Fla., Syracuse, N.Y., Minneapolis and Portland, Ore.

“Mary’s expertise in operations and her track record of creating exceptional workplace environments make her the perfect leader for our expansion efforts,” Howell said. “In addition to her experience at the Ledger, Mary’s role as community experience manager at WeWork has equipped her with a unique perspective on fostering collaborative workspaces, which is at the heart of Loloft’s mission.”

Howell and co-founder Paola Ibarra moved from Miami to Northwest Arkansas for a previous business venture. They introduced the Loloft concept in late 2021.

Loloft is an acronym for “Local Logistics, Flexible Terms.” The business model operates similarly to a regular co-working concept but is marketed to early-stage or growing companies by offering architecturally designed office coworking with state-of-the-art private warehouse units on a flexible basis ranging from 125 to 5,000 square feet, with lease terms starting at three months.

With backing from RZC Investments, the investment platform for Steuart and Tom Walton, the company redesigned a former ice factory at 600 S. First St. in downtown Rogers into its flagship location. It opened in 2023.

In addition to the RZC investment, Loloft has raised more than $1 million. Part of that funding is from Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, led by Revolution’s Chairman, CEO, and AOL co-founder Steve Case.

Howell said Loloft is in the process of raising further capital to support its expansion strategy.