$28 million boutique hotel to be built in downtown Springdale

Construction will soon begin on a five-story, 124-room boutique hotel in downtown Springdale after the city issued a $28 million building permit for the project. According to city records, Bentonville-based Blue Crane is the property owner.

On Tuesday (April 29), Springdale issued the permit to Columbus, Kan.-based Crossland Construction Co. to build The Sundry Hotel at 203 E. Emma Ave. The 85,167-square-foot hotel is expected to include a restaurant and will be built between the Razorback Greenway and the Arkansas & Missouri Railroad.

According to city records, the architect is Lakeland, Tenn.-based Renaissance Group and the developer is Greenville, S.C.-based Windsor Aughtry.

Blue Crane is Runway Group’s real estate acquisition and development arm. Runway Group is a diversified holding company based in Bentonville and led by Tom and Steuart Walton, who are grandsons of Walmart founders Helen and Sam Walton.

Blue Crane paid $2.2 million for the 1.6-acre property in November 2018. The seller was Utah-based Dent-A-Med Inc., led by Ryan Ray and Mark Robertson. The property is across from mixed-use development 202 Railside, a Blue Crane project. The project at 202 E. Emma Ave. repurposed the historic Ryan’s Clothing Store and added onto the building to include 55 apartment units and more than 15,000 square feet of commercial space.

The nearby Via Emma is another Blue Crane project. In February, St. Louis-based general contractor ARCO Construction Holdings Inc. acquired $33.5 million in building permits for the mixed-use development at 505 E. Emma Ave., adjacent to Luther George Park. It’s expected to be completed in late 2026.

On April 25, Blue Crane and development partner Riverside of Austin, Texas, announced a mixed-use project on Second Street between Northeast A and North Main streets in downtown Bentonville. Construction is expected to start in early 2026.