Fayetteville’s Old Post Office building sold for $2.28 million

BusinessNorthwest Arkansas

by Paul Gatling ([email protected]) July 3, 2018 2:42 pm 4,772 views 

The Old Post Office building at 1 W. Center St. on the square in downtown Fayetteville.

The building at the center of Fayetteville’s downtown square has a new owner. According to Washington County property records filed Monday (July 2), Arnold Holdings LLC paid $2.28 million for the 13,500-square-foot Old Post Office building, referred to locally as the OPO, at 1 W. Center St.

The purchase price equals $168.88 per square foot. The limited liability company is registered to Mike Arnold of Little Rock.

Steve Fineberg and Ethan Tisdale with Steve Fineberg & Associates in Bentonville were the listing agents for the building, which went on the market in April 2017. Fineberg also represented the buyer. A representative of the company said the new owner’s development plans were not known. Arnold was not immediately available for comment.

Waco Title Co. of Springdale was the title agent for the transaction.

Jim Huson, through his Fayetteville OPO LLC, was the previous owner. Huson paid Ron Bumpass $1.3 million for the two-story building — which includes a 4,500-square-foot basement — in 2013, according to county records. The Bumpass family had owned the building since 1976.

The OPO has a fully remodeled interior, according to an online real estate listing. It was built in 1911 and served as a U.S. Post Office from then until 1963. According to the Fayetteville Advertising & Promotion (A&P) Commission, the building was in danger of being razed in the 1970s until a group of citizens petitioned to save the building, which they did. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in August 1974, and renovated for commercial use later in the decade.

The OPO was vacant at the time of the sale to Arnold Holdings. It most recently housed John James’ startup incubator Hayseed Ventures, and a retail store for Country Outfitter before that. Through the years, according to the Fayetteville A&P, the building housed various businesses including Hog City Diner, Stogie’s Fine Cigars and Tobacco, Sodie’s Fountain and Grill, Jammin’ Java, and Urban Table.