A group of physicians has purchased the former Kmart shopping center at 10901 Rodney Parham Road in Little Rock for $12 million, with plans to develop the 16-acre site into a medical complex that would include other doctors.
Chris Moses, president and chief executive officer of Newmark Moses Tucker Partners, said Premier Gastroenterology Associates will spend another $23 million to "transform the blighted Kmart into a first-class mixed-use" development that will be called Premier Medical Plaza. The renovation will start immediately, with completion next summer, Moses said.
Physicians with Premier, now based at the Baptist Medical Center's campus off Interstate 630, will take over about half of the 100,000 square feet of the former Kmart store. Moses said his company's negotiations with other physicians groups to fill the rest of the building were going well.
The shopping center includes businesses such as 10 Fitness, Grapevine Wines and Spirits and Olive Garden, Black Angus and Grady's Pizza & Subs restaurants. Kmart closed its store about a year ago.
The Rodney Parham Merchants Association welcomes the news, Jim Alley, a member of the association's board, said. "Premier's plans are very much part of our vision for a family-friendly, fun and safe environment," he said.
-- Stephen Steed
Bank OZK's assets most in state in 2Q
Bank OZK had more assets than any bank in Arkansas in the second quarter, according to information from federal regulators.
The Little Rock bank, formerly known as Bank of the Ozarks, had $22.2 billion in assets in the second quarter, about 21 percent of all the assets of the state's 95 banks.
Bank OZK had net income in the first six months of the year of almost $228 million, accounting for 27 percent of the profits generated by all Arkansas-based banks.
Bank OZK, Arvest, Simmons and Centennial had more than $10 billion in assets in the second quarter.
Simmons Bank had the biggest increase in assets from June last year to June this year, at 88 percent.
-- David Smith
State index off 3.32, ends day at 457.62
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, fell 3.32 to 457.62 Thursday.
"Equities advanced Thursday, led by the utilities and information technology sectors following mixed economic releases early in the day as [today] marks the last day of trading for the third quarter," said Leon Lants, managing director at Stephens Inc. in Little Rock.
Total volume for the index was 15.5 million shares.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 09/28/2018