The Little Rock Board of Directors on Tuesday approved turning over funds to the Little Rock Technology Park Authority Board.
The technology park board had asked that the city give it the funds that have accumulated from the technology park's portion of sales tax revenue. City officials had promised to allot $22 million over 10 years to the technology park out of the 2011 voter-approved 1 percent sales tax increase.
So far, almost $5.6 million has accrued and another $1 million will be collected by the end of the year. The board voted 9-0 to dispense what has already built up in the fund and make another payment for the rest by the end of the year.
The technology park board will use the money as a down payment on a loan that it plans to take out to purchase the park's first portion of property and renovate it.
Companies run by Warren Stephens, president and chief executive officer of Stephens Inc., own the majority of properties in a downtown cluster of buildings and empty lots chosen for the technology park, primarily at Capitol Avenue and Main Street.
The property, under the name of two Stephens-controlled companies, will be purchased first. The technology park board has agreed to collectively pay DMT Ventures LLC and Five Main LLC $11.6 million for the Stephens property. The annex to the Exchange Bank building at Capitol and Main will be the first space to be renovated for occupancy.
Other Stephens-owned pieces of property to be purchased are a vacant building and parking lot often referred to as the old Stephens building at Capitol Avenue and Scott Street, and several other parking lots. The rest of the planned technology park site will be made up of the KATV-TV, Channel 7, studio and parking garage; the Mays, Byrd and Associates law firm; and another parking lot owned by the Rose Law Firm.
Some of these buildings will be renovated. Others will be razed and new buildings erected.
Metro on 07/22/2015