Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin on Tuesday announced plans to relocate his office late next year to the historic Boyle Building in downtown Little Rock after renovations to the 12-story property are completed.
The attorney general's office will occupy the 91,000-square-foot building under a 20-year lease, with the state having the option to purchase the property after the fifth year. Griffin said he anticipates the move will save taxpayer dollars while helping to develop the downtown area and provide his office with a better work environment.
"It's going to give us the space we need to have the professionalism and the training and all those other things that we need to best represent the state of Arkansas," Griffin said during a news conference at the Main Street Mall.
Griffin, a Republican who was elected in November, said he began exploring options for moving his office before he was sworn in as attorney general in January. Early considerations included renting a different space or constructing a new building, but Griffin said officials were unable to find a cost-effective option.
Griffin said he would like to see the attorney general's office own the building it occupies to save on rent. Over the past few decades, taxpayers have covered roughly $30 million in rent for the attorney general's office space.
Eventually, the Boyle Building caught the attorney general's attention.
"I said, 'Why don't we buy that building? That's an awesome building with an incredible history,'" Griffin said.
The Boyle Building, 500 S. Main St., has sat vacant for years. In 2014, the Chi Hotel Group of Little Rock bought the property for $4.6 million and announced plans to convert it into a hotel. Three years later, the group changed tack and said it would instead develop an apartment complex. Those plans also fell through, and by the end of 2018 the building was for sale.
Jimmy Moses, chairman of Moses Tucker Partners' board of directors, said Tuesday after the news conference his company purchased the building last week from the Chi family for around $5.5 million. The real estate firm will spend a total of $35 million to revamp the building before Griffin's office moves in, Moses said.
Renovations will include remedying structural issues caused by rainfall, putting on a new veneer, installing windows and reworking the ground floor.
"The building will look much like it does today, but you won't see the vacant windows and you will see life and energy," Moses said. "It will be a viable part of the business district."
Tax credits, if approved, will cover 25% of the renovation costs. Moses Tucker Partners and its partner Equity Partnership Holdings will have to seek traditional financing to cover the remaining costs. The attorney general's office will not be responsible for covering any of the renovations, said Jeff LeMaster, a spokesperson for the attorney general.
Along with housing his office, Griffin said he plans to rent out an entire floor of the Boyle Building to "law enforcement and judicial-related" tenants. He also envisions including a restaurant that would add to the downtown's night scene and a coffee shop.
Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. said he expects Griffin's plans for the Boyle Building to help spur investment in the city's downtown.
"It's no secret that we've had a doughnut in downtown Little Rock," Scott said. "This is a demonstration of unity through [Griffin's] leadership. Through that leadership, you will see downtown continue to grow because investment begets investment."
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders applauded Griffin's decision in a news release, saying the move will be cost-effective and help revitalize the downtown area.
"My administration is always working to find new opportunities to improve government efficiency and this move offers a great example for all of state government," Sanders said in the release.
Although his office doesn't yet have a firm move-in date, Griffin said he anticipates relocating sometime around October 2024. There are about 150 employees in the attorney general's office, he said.
Parking will be provided for employees, LeMaster said.
The attorney general's office is currently located at the Tower Building, 323 Center St., in Little Rock. Griffin said he expects the rent for the Boyle Building to be at or slightly less than his office's current rent.
In 2024, rent at the Tower Building will be roughly $1.44 million.
While rent at the Boyle Building will be about $1.65 million in 2024, the attorney general's office estimates it will receive $254,490 from renting out retail space on the first floor and $120,000 from renting out office space on the fifth floor.
This would drop the net rent to slightly less than $1.28 million, LeMaster said in a written statement.
Griffin is not the first attorney general to consider moving out of the Tower Building.
Former Democratic Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said Tuesday he nearly executed a deal during his tenure to secure office space in the Victory Building on Capitol Street. While the deal fell through, McDaniel said he was able to make improvements and acquire additional space for his office within the Tower Building using settlement dollars.
Ultimately, moving the attorney general's office into a space the state could own is the right move, McDaniel said.
The Boyle Building, originally known as the State Bank Building, was built in 1909 as an 11-story property. It was designed by architect George R. Mann, who also designed the Arkansas State Capitol. At the time of its construction, the Boyle Building was the tallest building in the state. The 12th floor was added in the 1940s.
Johnny Boyle, a real estate tycoon, purchased the building in 1916 to house his newly formed Boyle Real Estate Company. Boyle Realty continued to own and operate the building until 1999, when it moved its headquarters to West Little Rock, according to a news release from Moses Tucker Partners.
Information for this article was contributed by Aaron Gettinger of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.