The Budgetel Inn & Suites, formerly the North Little Rock Holidome Holiday Inn, was sold earlier this month to Murphy USA, which plans to raze the hotel and build one of its mega gas stations on the 2.8-acre spot, a principal from Colliers International-Arkansas said.
The hotel and the parcel it sits on sold for nearly the $1.8 million asking price. The property at 111 W. Pershing Ave. is considered a prime piece of real estate for its visibility from Interstate 40 and its proximity to North Little Rock High School, which is undergoing an expansion, said Drew Holbert, principal and vice president of brokerage with Colliers.
"There were a number of factors that led to decision for them to go here, but it is a good intersection," Holbert said.
The new large-format Murphy USA fuel facility and convenience store is expected to be like two stores in Little Rock, one of them on Arkansas 10 at Taylor Loop Road and another being built at Markham Street and Chenal Parkway. Those stores are roughly 3,400-3,500 square feet.
Holbert represented Murphy USA; Cynthia Lu and Hank Kelley Jr. of Flake & Kelley Commercial represented the seller, TariqInc., a family-owned business based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
About 117,000 vehicles pass the property on Interstate 30 each day, according to marketing materials provided by Lu. About 90,000 cars and trucks pass by on I-40, and 32,000 vehicles drive by daily on John F. Kennedy Boulevard, which intersects with Pershing Avenue where the Budgetel is located.
The Budgetel has been closed since Oct. 10, according to the North Little Rock Advertising and Promotion Commission.
"It's been there forever and a day," Holbert said about the hotel.
Holbert said Murphy USA would have about an acre of additional land.
"They'll look to bring in some sort of fast-food/quick-serve group that would complement their business," Holbert said.
"In its heyday, the hotel was really a popular destination," Lu said. "It had an indoor pool, sauna and restaurant. There was full glass around that indoor pool area."
Lu said the seller owned more land than it sold but that it split the 2.8 acres and 120-room Budgetel from another parcel that holds an 80-room hotel. That smaller property was sold to another hotelier that plans to rebrand it, she said.
Other hotel properties in the immediate area have sold recently and are being rebranded or refurbished, Lu said.
Business on 01/14/2016