Then & Now: Music and real estate define Greenhaw’s career

Whether it’s music or real estate, Neil Greenhaw is a creator. “I love creating. I love envisioning something. And just like you add elements into a song, I found a big correlation between that and real estate development.

“At my core, I’m a music creator; I’m a songwriter,” he said. “I was just so emotionally connected to music from the earliest age I could remember. I could hear a song and feel emotions based on the song even without knowing what the lyrics were saying, but just from the music alone.”

After earning a music degree from John Brown University, the Harrison native moved to Nashville. He toured with a gospel R&B band, playing guitar, for three years, returning to Northwest Arkansas in 2007.

Three years later, he founded Haxton Road Studios with a $1,000 investment, a computer and a microphone in the bonus room above his garage. In 2017, he moved the studio to a building he built in downtown Bentonville. In 2020, he was named to the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 class.

As a place “where art and business collide,” Haxton Road Studios provided professional recordings for artists, bands and singer/songwriters. It hosted artists like Robin Thicke and SNL cast member Kennan Thompson. Recording commercials, voiceovers, podcasts and audiobooks, and providing event space for local charities, Haxton Roads became a “multiple million-dollar company,” Greenhaw said, “with revenues having gone up every year.”

A few years ago, Greenhaw added a second division, named Phonebox, A Music Agency. A sonic branding music agency, it creates custom music for brands, audio logos and sound strategy. Clients include Walmart, Amazon, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, MTV, Microsoft, P&G, National Geographic, Saatchi & Saatchi and Pampers.

While Phonebox will continue, Haxton Road Studios will close at the end of the year so Greenhaw, 42, can focus on real estate and Greenhaw Development Co., which he owns with his wife, Lauren.

Their properties include multi-level commercial buildings in downtown Bentonville, including the soon-to-be-available Haxton Road Studio space, Luxury Stay NWA, and long-term and short-term rental properties. A pocket neighborhood, to be completed next year in Bentonville, will offer 2,700-square-foot single-family homes priced between $1.2 million and $1.4 million. In the concept phase, another $15 million-plus project will provide 30,000 to 40,000 square feet of commercial space in a six-story, mixed-use building. He’s also looking for land for future projects.

Greenhaw became interested in real estate while developing the Haxton Road building.

“The real estate thing caught me a little bit by surprise,” he said. “Seeing the difference music makes in people’s lives, I’ve always believed in that. But then, along the way, real estate development provided me another opportunity of creativity.”

Now his mission is “creating meaningful places where community can happen.” Driven by mission and vision, “I like to ask how can I create culture? How can I create quality and excellence, and how can I help the most people?”

A future personal passion project is developing homes for senior adults who want to live downtown but might struggle with stairs or steps. As for music, being out of the studio recording business means that music can look different for him.

“I’m excited about picking up a guitar or sitting at the piano and seeing what happens with these songs that I’m going to write with my team at Phonebox. Now, instead of a business, music will be more of a passion and joy.”

Giving back is important to the Greenhaws. They feel “a great responsibility to help with our time, our money and our resources. When we say we want to help people, we have to act on it,” he said. The couple supports Saving Grace with their time and their money. Greenhaw has served on the Bentonville Chamber of Commerce board and is on Downtown Bentonville’s (DBI) board.

The father of two daughters, Greenhaw’s wife, Lauren, is a physician’s assistant with Mercy and does design work for Greenhaw Development. Greenhaw enjoys fishing, golf, travel and fitness. He’s a big fan of everything from Frank Sinatra to ‘40s western swing to the ’60s with Motown.