16-story hotel, TempleLive entertainment venue proposed at Ruth’s Chris site in Rogers

Beaty Capital Group Inc., a family-owned investment company based in Rogers, is proposing a 16-story, 207-room hotel and entertainment project in the Pinnacle Hills area of Rogers.

According to a large-scale development plan filed with the city, the 1.57-acre site is at 3529 S. Pinnacle Hills Parkway. Ruth’s Chris Steak House occupies that address. The upscale restaurant opened in 2007 but will relocate later this year to a larger venue under construction nearby.

Clinton Bennett, principal at Bennett Commercial Real Estate in Rogers, said Beaty Capital Group has the property under contract. Chops Properties LLC, led by Andy Woodman, is the owner.

Lance Beaty, the founder and chief executive of Beaty Capital Group, confirmed the development plans in an interview with the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal on Monday (March 11). Beaty Capital Group primarily focuses on real estate and investments in smaller markets in the central United States. The company develops, manages, promotes and produces live music and entertainment on a national touring scale through its TempleLive brand.

“In this type of development, there are 100 things that have to take place for it to come to fruition,” Beaty said. “We’re on No. 21. We’ve been through the zoning. Now we’re going through large-scale. Based on our initial meetings, we feel pretty optimistic that this is a project that fits at that site.”

Beaty said the development plan reflects the changing scale of Northwest Arkansas’ real estate market. He also pointed to another Pinnacle Hills project to underscore the point. Georgia-based developer SJC Ventures is developing an 80,498-square-foot mixed-use center called Pinnacle Springs. The 12-acre site is at the northwest corner of New Hope Road and South Promenade Boulevard. Whole Foods Market is the anchor tenant.

“I fly out all over the country every week and meet people flying in from all over the country to do deals,” he said. “We just decided to anchor [a TempleLive venue] right here in Northwest Arkansas.”

Beaty said the Rogers project represents an investment “north of $150 million.” It’s a partnership with New York City-based Dream Hotel Group. They are working on a similar project in Cleveland.

BCG owns three former Masonic Temples in Arkansas, Kansas and Ohio in which TempleLive hosts national live music and entertainment acts. The three sites have combined employment of around 120, according to Beaty.

The company acquired the historic 53,000-square-foot Masonic Temple in downtown Fort Smith in November 2014 in a $2.5 million deal. The three-story building at 200 N. 11th St. was built in 1928 and has numerous meeting rooms and a theatre capable of seating 900. It reopened as TempleLive in August 2017 after approximately $5 million in renovations.

The Wichita Scottish Rite Center, in the heart of downtown Wichita, Kan., was acquired by BCG in early 2019. Terms of the private transaction were not disclosed. The Wichita facility was first constructed between 1887 and 1888 for the Young Men’s Christian Association and sold to the Scottish Rite Freemasons in 1898. The building was expanded in 1907 and 1956.

Beaty Capital Group acquired the Masonic Temple in Cleveland in 2017 for $725,000.

According to Beaty Capital Group’s development plan in Rogers—TempleLiveNWA/Dream Hotels—the mixed-use project the company is proposing totals approximately 305,000 square feet and includes a 2,200-seat music venue. Beaty said the hotel will include a rooftop pool and bar. An undisclosed national restaurant is planned for one floor below. He said it would be one of two restaurants proposed in the hotel. The other is on the fourth floor, anchoring a pedestrian mall.

Beaty said the Rogers property deal should close by late summer. Pending approval, he is hopeful to begin construction in the first quarter of 2025.

Daniel Ellis with Crafton Tull engineering firm in Rogers is working on the hotel site plan. Studio 6 Architects in Fort Smith is also working on the project. After any comments or revisions to the plan, it will go before the city’s planning commission later this year.