Arvest To Buy Target Store in West Little Rock, Expand
by July 7, 2003 12:00 am 254 views
Arvest Bank on June 18 formally announced its plans to purchase the west Little Rock Target building for $3.5 million and hire more than 300 employees over the next three to five years.
Arvest officials said the bank group will spend $2 million to renovate the 80,000-SF building, which will house Central Mortgage, a bank subsidiary that currently employs about 50 people. Construction is set to begin by August and be completed by early 2004.
On May 12, the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal’s “Whispers” column reported that Arvest would buy the 10.5-acre property at 801 John Barrow Road from the Doyle Rogers Co. Calculations made by the Institute for Economic Advancement at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock said the annual economic impact of the new jobs is expected to be at least $67 million within three years, including a $10 million payroll.
Bill Roehrenbeck, president and chief executive officer of Central Mortgage, said the company recently contracted to handle Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage accounts, increasing Central’s need for space.
As of March 31, Arvest had assets of $4.9 billion and deposits of $4.3 billion. In May, Arvest announced that it would acquire Superior Financial Corp. of Fort Smith for $211 million.