Sears store tract in Little Rock nets $44M; lot along I-630 ‘attracting all the retailers,’ marketer says

The old Sears department store at Interstate 630 and South University Avenue is part of a $100 million restaurant and retail development planned by a Dallas firm.
The old Sears department store at Interstate 630 and South University Avenue is part of a $100 million restaurant and retail development planned by a Dallas firm.

A Dallas real estate development firm is planning $100 million worth of retail and restaurant development on 30 acres in midtown Little Rock.

Provident Realty Advisors Inc. purchased the closed Sears department store and other properties at the northwest corner of Interstate 630 and South University Avenue from Little Rock Medical Associates. A source confirmed that the site, which holds more than 400,000 square feet of commercial properties, sold for about $44 million.

ARK Commercial & Investment Real Estate represented Little Rock Medical Associates in selling the property, which includes the former Sears store, the Doctors Building and Midtown Medical Park. The site's location near the interstate and intersection of Markham Street and University Avenue make it an attractive piece of property, according to John Doubleday, whose Shop Cos. of Dallas is marketing it to retail and restaurant chains.

Marketing plans call for a 125,000-square-foot grocery store plus two separate retail properties of about 14,000 square feet each. Doubleday said there are multiple options for the property.

"There is an overabundance of retail interest," said Doubleday, a Little Rock native. "I don't think it's an exaggeration to say it's the one of the highest traffic counts in central Arkansas, possibly Arkansas. I don't think it's out of bounds to say that. And you've got incredibly high daytime density. This is an ideal spot. It's attracting all the retailers."

A nearby stretch of Interstate 630 is traveled by 103,000 vehicles per day, according to the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department. Nearby University Avenue accommodates 33,000 vehicles per day.

Marketing material circulated by Shop Cos. includes a look at nearby grocery stores and illustrates the lack of options in the midtown area. Doubleday was involved in the Kroger Marketplace development in Benton while working for Dallas' Retail Connection.

Included in the 250,000-square-foot Saline County project is a 123,000-square-foot Kroger store and an Academy Sports. Doubleday said it is premature to discuss specific tenants for the midtown property.

Midtown is home to four hospitals, 500,000 square feet of medical space and 1 million square feet of retail space within 2 miles of the proposed Shops at University Village. Sears closed in July.

Additional retail and restaurant development in the area will be good for existing businesses, according to John Spenst, a restaurant owner and member of the city's Midtown Redevelopment Advisory Board. Spenst and his wife, Carol, opened a Chick-fil-A on Markham in 2007 and have seen a significant amount of development in the area since.

Despite the addition of restaurants each year, Spenst said sales have improved in eight of nine years since the location opened.

"It's exciting to see midtown is not only relevant and vital today, but positioning itself to be relevant and vital for years to come," Spenst said. "I think over the last nine years people have come to identify the intersection of University and Markham as a true dining hub for the city, and there is an opportunity for additional growth."

Little Rock Medical Associates purchased the property in 1970. A press release announcing the sale indicates that the Doctors Building and Midtown Medical Park building will "remain as currently used for the foreseeable future."

Medical and office space in midtown has helped draw developers to the area, said Jeff Yates, managing partner of ARK Commercial & Investment Real Estate. Additional residential development in the area has also made it attractive to developers.

"Midtown, like downtown, has been redeveloping for a while now. This is a natural progression of the reinvestment in midtown," Yates said. "It's an exciting opportunity."

Business on 10/20/2016

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