WeWork developer gives update on Bentonville project

by Paul Gatling ([email protected]) 5,650 views 

A multimillion-dollar investment in Bentonville by New York-based co-working giant WeWork Companies Inc. took a significant step forward Monday (April 13).

The company’s Bentonville development partner, Center City LLC, filed a large-scale development plan (LSDP) Monday for a 228,000 square foot office and mixed-use building at 224 S. Main St.

WeWork announced the project on April 1, 2019, at an invitation-only panel discussion at the downtown Bentonville event venue Record. It was led by Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Mayor Stephanie Orman, Greater Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Graham Cobb and WeWork co-founder Miguel McKelvey.

The total investment for the Bentonville development has not been disclosed.

The Bentonville project is an investment partnership that includes WeWork and the landowner, City Center LLC, led by Bentonville developer Josh Kyles. The 1.56-acre site on South Main Street, two blocks south of the downtown square, was formerly occupied by a 32,745-SF nursing home facility called Bentonville Manor. The business license was relocated to a new facility in Rogers three years ago, and the building was razed in 2018.

Kyles released the following statement Monday in a news release distributed by Rogers commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield/Sage Partners.

“It is the decision of the owners, developers and marketing team to only disclose the large-scale plans at this time, when so many of our friends and loved ones are being adversely affected by COVID-19. We look forward to better days when we can truly celebrate this development and share plans, renderings and details with the community. Until that time, we have no further information to provide.”

The statement said Bentonville’s WeWork building is slated for completion in early 2022.

WeWork enjoyed a mostly meteoric rise during the past decade, but 2019 was a challenging year. The company went through a failed initial public offering (IPO) in 2019, and cofounder Adam Neumann was ousted as CEO and chairman.

Neumann and Miguel McKelvey founded the business in 2010. It operates as a real estate and tech company, providing shared office spaces around the world.