Legacy Building in Fayetteville Under Contract, Poised For Sale

Fayetteville real estate firm CBRE Northwest Arkansas has placed the once-foreclosed Legacy Building in downtown Fayetteville under contract, and the sale is expected to close by the end of the month.

The seven-story building, built in 2007, sits one block north of Dickson Street and was a notable development of convicted developer Brandon Barber, who pleaded guilty in July 2013 to three charges — conspiracy to commit bank fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to commit bankruptcy fraud — and was sentenced in October 2014 to 65 months in federal prison.

CBRE brokers Clinton Bennett and Sterling Hamilton have worked cooperatively the last few months to market the property, which sold at auction to Springdale lender Legacy National Bank in November 2008 for $11.25 million. LNB also filed the initial foreclosure on the property in January that year.

The building has been owned since January 2013 by The Broe Group, a Denver-based private investment firm. The company took over the distressed asset when it paid $4.26 million to three other banks that helped LNB fund the building’s $17 million construction — First National Bank of Fort Smith, First National Bank of Green Forest and Little Rock lender Metropolitan National Bank. (MNB was acquired by Simmons Bank of Pine Bluff in 2013).

Bennett declined to give a list price and did not reveal the identity of the buyer. He did say it was an Arkansas-based investment group.

“It’s a buyer that understands Fayetteville and how strong the downtown [Fayetteville] market is and how bright the prospects are for that area,” Bennett said. “We are seeing a lot of demand for mid-to high-end residential property and not a lot of supply.”

Building Inventory

The Legacy Building has 38 residential condo units, with floor plans ranging from just below 1,000 SF up to approximately 3,500 SF.

Twenty-five units are already individually owned, with notable owners including Fayetteville real estate titan Jim Lindsey (he owns two units, including Barber’s old, two-story penthouse), philanthropists Jim and Nancy Blair (Blair operates his nonprofit James Burton Blair Family Foundation out of his condo), and former Arkansas Razorback receiver Jerry Lamb, who owns the entire seventh floor (divided into two units).

A good portion of the condo owners are not full-time residents. Most invested in the building to have a home away from home during Razorback gameday weekends.

The 13 units still for sale are listed by Jana Wrenay-Heck of Lindsey & Associates in Fayetteville.

According to Washington County property records, three units were sold in 2015 for a combined $1.2 million. The separate purchases averaged $314 per SF.

The only unit sold so far in 2016 closed in July — a 1,022-SF, one-bedroom unit for $286,160, a purchase price of $280 per SF.

The building’s second floor is built out, but not finished, making it suitable for commercial or office space. It totals about 8,000 SF.

The Grillehouse Seafood & Steaks is also located in the Legacy Building, but it is not part of the bulk sale. The casual fine dining restaurant, which opened last fall, is owned by Clint Boutwell of Oxford, Mississippi. Boutwell had been leasing the 4,377-SF space from Kyle Naples, but Boutwell, through his Steakhouse Holdings LLC, acquired it for himself in July for $808,426, according to property records.