Arkansas Business

How much is the building worth that once housed the oldest newspaper west of the Mississippi River?

$5.3 million.

That's how much eStem Public Charter Schools Inc. paid for the Arkansas Gazette Building at 112 W. Third St.

The seller is Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Inc., led by Walter Hussman Jr.

As we understand it, the math behind the deal reflects a $3 million option price the school had plus debt owed to Hussman for remodeling and improvements.

Annual rent on the property totaled $491,370.

EStem, which derives its acronym name from the study of Economics related to the fields of Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics, has called the 51,100-SF structure home since 2008.

Built in 1908, the Gazette Building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since Oct. 22, 1976.

You might recall the charter school is leasing the old Federal Reserve Building across the way at 123 W. Third St. for its high school classes.

The eStem landlord is an affiliate of Southern Bancorp of Arkadelphia, which has an investment of more than $5.6 million in the 45,000-SF building.