Bank of the Ozarks to build new Little Rock corporate headquarters
by January 13, 2016 5:39 am 1,019 views
Bank of the Ozarks is laying the foundation for future growth with plans for a new corporate headquarters in west Little Rock.
The Little Rock-based financial institution says it has outgrown three headquarters locations in the past 20 years.
“Bank of the Ozarks has enjoyed great success and growth for many years,” said George Gleason, Chairman and CEO. “Since 1995 we have occupied and then outgrown three different corporate headquarters in Little Rock. We expect continued growth for many years to come, and that implies continued growth in our workforce. The new campus should provide ample acreage for our company’s growth, while allowing an efficient and orderly, multi-phase development of facilities as they are needed.”
The new headquarters will sit on approximately 44 acres at The Ranch on Highway 10 in west Little Rock. Company officials say they paid about $12.7 million for the land.
The initial building will be the centerpiece of the corporate headquarters campus and is expected to have approximately 180,000 square feet. Subsequent buildings will be developed as needed with full development expected to occur over several decades, the bank said in a release.
The bank anticipates groundbreaking for the initial building in late 2016 or early 2017 with completion targeted for 2018.
Upon completion of the new headquarters building, the majority of the staff at the current 17901 Chenal Parkway facility expects to relocate to The Ranch headquarters. Bank of the Ozarks said it expects to maintain the 17901 Chenal Parkway building to house its existing retail branch banking office, its Leasing, Corporate Loan Specialties and Mortgage Lending Divisions and certain other personnel. The bank also plans to continue to occupy its state-of-the-art data center completed in June, 2015 in downtown Little Rock. The data center houses telecommunications and information technology operations.
Polk Stanley Wilcox will serve as the architect and White-Daters and Associates, Inc. will serve as the engineering firm for the development.