First Security Bank of Searcy paid $900,000 last month for 12.5 undeveloped acres on Brockington Road in Sherwood.
The property is at Brockington and Indian Bay Drive, about a mile north of Kiehl Avenue.
In April, the Arkansas Bank Department approved an application by First Security Bank to build a branch at the location in Sherwood.
First Security bought more land than it needed, said John Rutledge, regional president for First Security.
"We were hoping the seller would sell us just the corner without selling all of it," Rutledge said. "So we ended up having to buy more land than we need. And we'll be working toward hoping to find others who might be interested in taking the additional land off our hands over time."
First Security bought the property from HDJ Realty, a limited liability company formerly known as Matthews Properties. The sale was for $72,000 an acre, well above the 2017 total appraised value of the property of $2,100.
Matthews Properties has owned the property at least since 1996, according to Pulaski County records.
First Security typically needs 1 or 2 two acres to build its branches, depending on the traffic flow, Rutledge said.
First Security is the fifth-largest bank in Arkansas with almost $5.4 billion in assets. It has 80 offices in Arkansas and had net income of $28.2 million in the first quarter.
This will be First Security's first branch in Sherwood.
"We've been looking for several years for the right location [in Sherwood]," Rutledge said. "One of those good locations we were hoping for was this corner, and we weren't given any other choices."
First Security tried to buy other sites in Sherwood but nothing else worked out, Rutledge said.
First Security already has locations in nearby communities, such as Cabot and North Little Rock.
"We think [Sherwood] is a natural fit to our existing presence," Rutledge said.
HEIGHTS SPACE
Catta LLC purchased an almost 100-year-old building in the Mountain Park subdivision in Little Rock last month for $515,000.
The building at 5615 Kavanaugh Blvd. has 2,919 square feet and was built in 1920. Catta is led by Charles H. Murphy III. Murphy didn't return a phone call seeking comment about the transaction.
The building is home to the Murphy Group.
The sellers were William Keith Robertson and his wife, Emily Katherine Robertson, of 5006 Katillus Court in Little Rock. They bought the building in 2003 for $69,000. The building was appraised at about $713,000 this year.
Catta borrowed $500,000 to help finance the purchase. The mortgage matures in 2028.
APARTMENT UNIT
Holt Investments LLC paid $300,000 for an almost 4,500-square-foot two-story apartment building in North Little Rock last month.
The building is at 10820 Frenchmen Loop in North Little Rock near Maumelle. It is the seventh similarly built multifamily home Holt Investments owns on the same street. All were built in 2006.
The sellers were Matthew Hutsell and his wife, Angela Hutsell.
Holt Investments borrowed more than $139,000 from First Security Bank to help finance the purchase. The mortgage matures in 2023.
Holt Investments is an investment firm of the late attorney Stephen Holt and his wife.
Jeremy McNabb is trustee for the Holt Family Trust, which is managing member of Holt Investments.
SundayMonday Business on 06/17/2018