A mixed-use office building made of wood and designed with the pandemic in mind is to be built in Pinnacle Village, a workplace, retail and residential development in Rogers.
The 166,000-square-foot building will have retail shops on the first floor and five upper levels of office space, according to plans from Miller Boskus Lack Architects, which is based in Fayetteville. Ideas being considered for the six-story building include doors with touchless technology and voice-controlled elevators.
The architects said they wanted to create a light-filled workspace that embraced concepts such as sustainability, healthy living and well-being. Plans show the potential for nearby food trucks, cafes, shops and co-working spaces. They also show a connection to the Razorback Greenway trail.
Miller Boskus Lack said it wanted to bring the amenities and feel of a large city to communities like Rogers "as major American cities and their massive workforce populations begin to imagine what a future workplace looks like."
Instead of concrete or steel beams, renderings show the use of cross laminated timber, a product of alternating wooden slats that when glued together are similar in concept to plywood. Over the years, this system has risen in popularity for its sustainability and cost benefits. Miller Boskus Lack said it could cut construction time by as much as 35% compared with conventional structures. The architects said it also brings a sense of warmth to the interior and "helps boost the state's economy."
Canadian mass timber manufacturer Structurlam last year invested $90 million into its first U.S. production plant in Arkansas. The plant's first customer will be Walmart Inc., for cross laminated timber in the construction of the retailer's new home office in Bentonville.
The trees for the Walmart project will be grown in Arkansas.
To date, the 202,027-square-foot Adohi Hall dormitory at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, is the largest mass timber structure in the U.S.
A groundbreaking for the infrastructure of Pinnacle Village, a development valued at more than $100 million, took place Sept. 25. Alex Blass, one of the developers, said they have since been working on the roads, utilities and other improvements in preparation for the retail, office and residential "neighborhood."
Blass said the plan is to have two six-story apartment buildings with parking decks and two office buildings, among other things. A hotel that was in the works is now on hold, because of the pandemic.
"The idea is to have an urban, walkable downtown area that is about six stories tall," Blass said.
Pinnacle Village is being built in a 27-acre field next to Hunt Tower, off Pauline Whittacker Parkway.
The six-story office building has a July 2021 construction start date. No completion date has been set yet.
Cushman & Wakefield/Sage Partners in Rogers is the lead agent on the building. The general contractor is VCC Construction in Little Rock.