JBU Science Building Targets 2003 Opening

John Brown University of Siloam Springs is targeting January 2003 for occupancy of its $8.5 million William H. Bell Science Hall.

The actual construction cost of the facility is $7.6 million. Some of the funding has come from JBU donors, and $6.7 million came from the J.A. and Leta Chapman Trust of Tulsa.

The facility will be 38,395 SF and will provide new classrooms, faculty offices and labs for biology, physics, chemistry, microbiology and biochemistry.

Nabholz Construction Corp. of Little Rock is the general contractor. The architectural firm on the project is MAHG Architecture Inc. of Fort Smith.

JBU also recently opened the Pat and Willard Walker Center, a 54,000-SF student center with an additional 48,000-SF dormitory. It also is being built by Nabholz. The architectural firm was TGS Architects of Dallas. That facility was built for about $10.9 million.

Publicly Held Bank Gets New Home Office

First Federal Bancshares of Arkansas Inc. in Harrison has broken ground on a new 40,000-SF branch and corporate headquarters at 1401 U.S. Highways 62/65. The publicly traded company’s corporate offices have been spread out through five Harrison branch locations but will now be consolidated into this full-service facility.

Nabholz Construction Corp. of Conway is the general contractor for the $5.5 million project, which was designed by Williams and Dean Associated Architects Inc. of Little Rock. The 5.5-acre site was purchased previously for $900,000, and the banking services’ equipment and furnishings cost $600,000.

Larry J. Brandt, First Federal’s president and CEO, said the building will be the bank’s “northtown office.” It will feature six drive-through banking windows and a 5,000-SF conference and education center on its second level.

Gov. Mike Huckabee and former U.S. Congressman John Paul Hammerschmidt, now First Federal’s chairman, were on hand April 23 for the facility’s groundbreaking. The project is expected to be completed in 11 months.

Headquartered in Harrison since 1934, the bank operates 16 full-service branches in northern Arkansas, including locations in Fayetteville, Bentonville, Rogers, Tontitown, Farmington and Berryville. First Federal is traded on the Nasdaq exchange.

Final Financing Set for UARK Bowl

Sixth Street Development Co. on March 20 got a $2.2 million loan from The Bank of Fayetteville for the final financing of the newly opened and renovated UARK Bowl building in Fayetteville.

The 20,000-SF facility at 628 Dickson St. was purchased by Sixth Street Development (consisting of Rob Merry-Ship, Lamar Anderson and Richard Alexander) for $450,000 from Leroy Pearce. It was built in 1940. Originally, it contained a bowling alley on the first floor and a ballroom on the second.

Companies already have leased the space for special events scheduled for as far away as December. Micky Finn’s Irish Pub is at the entrance of the facility, which will have more than 5,600 SF of reception space.

Windwood’s Phase II Gets 11 New Homes

ARC Construction of Centerton recently purchased 11 building permits valued at a combined $1.37 million to add to a southwest Bentonville subdivision.

Windwood subdivision will have about 400 homes around the SW 15th, SW 16th and SW 17th street areas. The latest construction will be in phase III of Windwood’s development.

The homes at Windwood will range from 1,500-1,800 SF and possibly larger. They will be priced from about $95,000-$115,000. The lots will include fully sodded yards, while the houses will include full-brick, maintenance-free exteriors, ceramic tile, cherry cabinets and architectural shingles on the roof. Some will have Jacuzzi tubs.

Puttkammer Putting Homes at Shadow Valley Subdivision

Vance Puttkammer Homes Inc. of Rogers on Feb. 19 secured two loans totaling $562,000 from Arvest Bank to build homes at a southwest Rogers subdivision.

Shadow Valley, being developed by former Sears, Roebuck & Co. executive Charles Reaves, is a 514-acre golf community that starts less than three miles west of the Pleasant Grove Road/Interstate 540 intersection and sprawls a mile west to Arkansas Highway 112. Homes will be priced from $175,000 and up, with the average home priced at about $250,000.

There will be from 1,700-2,000 living units in the initial phase of Shadow Valley. Reaves is president of Reaves Enterprises Inc.

Trim Line Designing Four New Lowell Homes

Trim Line Design of Springdale recently purchased four building permits valued at a combined $451,529 to build more homes at a northeast Lowell subdivision.

Cambridge Place subdivision, off Honeysuckle Road, has 150 total lots.

The latest four homes will be on Irelan and Colley streets and between 1,595-1,873 SF.

Elder Construction Busy in Fayetteville

Chris Elder of Elder Construction in Fayetteville on March 14 got two building permits valued at a combined $363,196 to build homes in upscale Fayetteville subdivisions.

One permit is for a 3,562-SF home at 2416 N. Candlewood Drive in Candlewood subdivision off Arkansas Highway 265 in east Fayetteville.

The second permit is for a 2,700-SF home at 3143 E. Greystone Drive in the new Stonewood subdivision in northeast Fayetteville. It is also off Highway 265 and north of the Fayetteville-Springdale Elks Lodge.

And Furthermore …

We discovered another omission from our annual list of residential real estate agents with more than $1 million in sales volume for 2001.

Ward Jones Realtors Inc. turned in eight agents fitting the criteria. Brenda Haxel led the Siloam Springs company with $8.9 million, which would have placed her 16th in Northwest Arkansas. Ward Jones had $4.5 million, good for 70th. Donetta Samuels had $4 million, tied for No. 79. Nora Krein had $3.1 million, tied for No. 119.

Others from Ward Jones Realtors included Liz Keeton with $2.3 million (tied for No. 177), Rebecca Sanderson with $1.8 million (tied for No. 211), John Roberts with $1.6 million (tied for No. 224), and Merlyn Villiard with $1.3 million (tied for No. 244).

A record 27 firms participated and 271 agents made our annual list, which can be seen on our Web site at www.nwabusinessjournal.com.