Commercial Market Still Sizzling in Downtown Bentonville

The downtown Bentonville commercial real estate scene continues to flourish.

Walton Enterprises’ Midtown Center, located on about 3 acres northwest of the square, is taking shape.

In May, the Walton Family Foundation moved its offices into the development, comprised of two three-story buildings, located on Northwest Second Street, in between North Main and Northwest A Street. Each has 20,000 SF of office space on the second and third floors. The buildings are connected through a tunnel on the second and third floors, and that tunnel also leads to the development’s three-story parking deck, which is accessible from Northwest A Street.

The bottom-floor retail space also seems to be compete in both buildings. There was a poster advertising an event set for June 12 on a window at the property. However, the center has not yet announced what tenants will fill the collective 14,000-SF space.

In addition, construction is underway for a 31,000-SF Walmart Neighborhood Market that will occupy the northeast corner of the development, facing out on North Main Street.

The store does not have an opening date set, but the company is “on target for Q3 or Q4,” according to Erica Jones, senior manager of communications at Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

A few blocks away, construction on the commercial space at the Thrive Bentonville development, located at 401 S.W. A St., is underway.

A mixed-use development with residential and commercial, Thrive began moving people in May 30, and had only two living spaces left for lease on June 1, said Eve Rosin, experience curator for ERC Cos. of Fort Smith, which developed the project.

The property is 44,000 SF total. Crepes Paulette plans to open its first brick-and-mortar restaurant within a 1,036-SF commercial space on the bottom floor of the development. The 785-SF remainder of commercial space remains unclaimed at this point.

 

Arts Activity

Crepes Paulette co-owner Frederick Henry said he plans to open at Thrive sometime this summer, and that the eatery’s food truck, located at 213 N.E. A St. in downtown Bentonville, will also remain open.

“Our initial idea was for a brick-and-mortar shop, but we ended up scaling back to hone the concept. Now, we think we’re ready,” said Paula Jo Chitty-Henry, the other half of the husband-wife ownership team. “We’re finding it increasingly difficult to satisfy the growing volume of customers in Bentonville working only out of our trailer. Plus, the Thrive [development] is going to be a great, vibrant and high-energy location.

“Bentonville is on the move and very supportive of businesses that can add dimension to its charming, small-town feel. That’s a great fit for Crepes Paulette,” Chitty-Henry said.

The other available commercial space is along the side of Thrive that faces the Bentonville Downtown Trail, and that space will also be a restaurant, Rosin said.

Thrive is located in a part of downtown Bentonville dubbed the arts district, a neighborhood that starts at the Bentonville Public Library and extends southwest, covering several blocks, with Southwest Fourth and Southwest Sixth streets forming the north and south perimeters, respectively.

The district was established by the city in December 2013 and includes the Hub, located at 401 S.W. A St., where an old warehouse and lumberyard used to be.

Within the last year, Bike Rack Brewery and Pedaler’s Pub opened in the Hub, and Downtown Bentonville Inc. and Bike Bentonville, a local nonprofit, relocated to the spot.

Gearhead Outfitters of Jonesboro is also getting in on the arts district action, leasing a space at 501 S.W. A St. Gearhead marketing director Ashlyn Kohler said the company plans to open the store by late summer.

“There’s a store there in Rogers and we bought a building in Fayetteville. Bentonville seemed like the next logical step,” Kohler said. “We’re excited to be part of that growth and movement in the downtown area.”

 

To Market, To Market

The market district, also established in December 2013, continues to take shape. It includes several blocks located less than a mile southeast of the downtown square.

Fresh Fish Marketplace and restaurant — which flies in seafood daily from areas like Boston, Alaska and Seattle —  opened in the district on May 6.

Owner Barry Furuseth said the demand has far exceed his expectations.

“There has been an unbelievable response from the community. We are moving 3,500 to 4,000 pounds of seafood each week,” he said.

The 4,000-SF market, located at 607 S.E. Fifth St., is planning an expansion that will start in mid-July.

Furuseth believes that, with a diverse population of professionals that have lived throughout the country and the world, there are other business concepts that the area is starved for, and he hopes to see more of that come to fruition in the market district. 

Two large properties located in the district include the vacant Tyson Foods Inc. facility at 801 S.E. Eighth St. and the empty Kraft Foods plant at 507 S.E. E St.

Plans have not been officially announced for either facility. However, the Tyson plant, which closed in 2005, was rezoned from heavy industrial to general commercial in April.

According to documents submitted to the city’s planning commission from CEI Engineering Associates Inc. of Bentonville, the Northwest Arkansas Community College Culinary Arts School is proposed to occupy about 27,600 SF of the space, and the remaining 47,340S SF will be for tenants that include a small retail space, a coffee shop, a 4,696-SF sit-down restaurant, and a 5,248-SF business incubator. 

NWACC has not announced publicly that it will be in the space. Executive director of development Meredith Brunen said in an emailed response on June 1 that there were no additional details.

As for the former Kraft facility, which closed in 2013, a spokesperson for Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art said it is in the preliminary exploration phase to determine if the spaces will work as an adjunct to the current museum campus.

The plant is comprised of several buildings that altogether make up about 65,000 SF.

Both the Tyson and Kraft facilities appear to be linked to the Walton family. They are owned by Food Hub NWA LLC, a company registered in Delaware that has the same Bentonville mailing address — P.O. Box 1860 — as that of the Walton Family Foundation Inc.

 

Ripe Opportunities

Also in the market district, renovations at the old Ice House on Southeast Fifth Street are effectively finished.

The space hosted a concert series during the Bentonville Film Festival in May, and already has one tenant, Clear Choice Retail, a marketing service company. 

April Seggebruch — a partner at Icebreakers LLC, which owns the property — said the 15,563-SF space with commercial kitchen would be ideal for a venue that hosts music events or corporate retreats. However, the owners have not found a tenant willing to take on that venture. Because of this, the renovation of the property will continue a few more weeks, as dividing walls are currently being built, so the owners can lease office space.

Another notable piece of property in downtown Bentonville that is being advertised to open up soon is at 101 W. Central Ave., on the southwest corner of the downtown square.

The property’s current tenant, Club Marketing Services (acquired by Irvine, California-based Advantage Sales & Marketing LLC in 2014), plans to move into the Hunt Tower in Rogers upon its completion. Hunt Ventures LLC Executive Vice President John George said the opening date for the tower is set for Nov. 1. 

A group of owners doing business as 101 West Central Avenue LLC of Delaware purchased the downtown Bentonville property for $1.7 million in February. 

Attorney Josh Mostyn, who represents the owners, said no plans have been made yet for the 138-year-old property, but there will likely be a renovation to modernize it.

The owners are open to customizing the two-story, 9,222-SF space to suit an array of uses and are looking for a concept that will be a good fit for what’s going on in the downtown area, he said.

And as the commercial real estate boom continues in that area of the city, Monica Kumar, who in May joined Downtown Bentonville Inc. as executive director, says the area is rife with possibility. 

“From my perspective I can think of no more exciting place to be today than Bentonville,” she said. “The local energy and excitement sparks a feeling that anything is possible and the positive collaboration in our community is unique, and speaks volumes about the people who call Bentonville their home.”