Simmons Unloads 14 Acres Of OREO in Walnut Creek
by October 12, 2015 12:00 am 143 views
A luxury apartment developer from Indiana has received a $23.7 million funding agreement tied to a 14.3-acre site on South Promenade Boulevard in Rogers, with plans to build a 220-unit property.
According to Benton County real estate records, Watermark Residential of Indianapolis paid $2.92 million for the land in the Walnut Creek area, just south of Walnut Street.
Carrie Thrift LaFay, the firm’s development manager, said construction on the property will begin immediately, with the first available units being delivered by January 2017.
Associated Bank N.A. of Green Bay, Wisconsin, is financing the construction.
Dubbed Watermark at Walnut Creek, the 22-building complex will have a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments — plus a pool, clubhouse and other amenities characteristically found in a class-A, multifamily community.
The company currently has about 3,300 units in its portfolio, and would like to bring more to Northwest Arkansas, particularly Fayetteville.
“That is a very strong market that we have a lot of confidence can support more units than are currently being delivered, and plan to be delivered,” said Josh Purvis, a senior vice president at Watermark Residential.
Watermark bought the Walnut Creek property from Pine Bluff-based Simmons First National Bank, the successor of the property by its acquisition of Metropolitan National Bank in November 2013. It previously belonged to Little Rock developer John Aaron Rees.
Clinton Bennett, a broker with CBRE Northwest Arkansas in Fayetteville, brokered the deal, and is hopeful it’s a signal of others to follow. The five-lane extension of Promenade Boulevard that links New Hope Road on the south with Walnut Street on the north was destined to be a busy commercial thoroughfare when completed in 2008, but the stretch is still mostly flanked by undeveloped lots.
“I think the Watermark project will highlight to the public what we have known for a long time,” Bennett said. “This area is ripe for development, and when you consider the location and condition of the property, the project offers one of the best real estate values in Northwest Arkansas.”