Tech park: November entry in sight

The Little Rock Technology Park could be ready to sign tenants as early as November in the six-story Exchange Bank Annex building at 417 Main St., tech park authority board Executive Director Brent Birch said at the governing board's monthly meeting Wednesday.

Renovation for the first phase of the $100 million technology park will start on the top floor of the annex and spread downward from there, Birch said. Leasing will begin as space becomes available.

Architectural renderings by Wittenberg Delony & Davidson of the exterior and interior were made public at a board meeting last month, and since then, Birch said he's received a handful of legitimate inquiries from established Internet technology firms that are interested in space, timing and rates.

"The reality of this project has really come to life," Birch said.

The Little Rock Technology Park Authority Board is set to close Feb. 1 on its first round of property acquisition -- about two-thirds of what's needed for the 3.25-acre tech park, a site in and adjacent to a downtown city block between Main and Scott streets off Capitol Avenue.

The Phase 1 purchase will include an office building known as Five Main Place at 421 Main St., the vacant Exchange Bank Annex at 417 Main St., the soon-to-be-demolished old Stephens building at 114 E. Capitol Ave., a building at 415 Main St. that houses the offices of Mays Byrd & Associates P.A., and three parking lots in the area.

Former Supreme Court Justice Richard Mays Sr. is selling his long-held property to the tech park for a little over $1 million. The tech park is buying the rest of the property from companies controlled by financier Warren Stephens for $11.6 million.

On Wednesday, the tech park board passed resolutions finalizing the purchase agreements and financing for Phase 1. Total cost for the first phase is about $24 million, with the rest going toward construction and professional services, such as architects and surveyors. A $17.5 million loan will include two notes -- one for $7.9 million and another for $9.6 million that is exempt from federal and state income tax.

Attorneys for the tech park have said tax-exempt financing allows the banks to offer the tech park a lower interest rate for the length of the loan. The interest rate will be 4.19 percent on the taxable property over the six-year life of the loan. The interest rate on the tax-exempt property is 2.95 percent.

The tax-exempt property is leased by Stephens to the state for the offices of the Department of Education and the Department of Higher Education. Birch has successfully negotiated a new lease with the state for those education offices for more than $755,000 in annual rent for 44,230 square feet from the closing date through Jan. 31, 2022.

Mays said Wednesday that he is buying a floor in a 12-story building at 212 Center St. Some tenants he's leaving behind on Main Street will have to re-negotiate their leases with the tech park. Part of the parking lots are tied up with Stephens' lease with the state and also will have to be negotiated, Birch said.

At this time, there are no guidelines on the exact types of firms and how many of each kind can lease space in the tech park.

Business on 01/14/2016

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