Alleviant Health Sustains Tenant’s Remorse

Brian Mears, president and CEO of Alleviant Health Centers in Little Rock (Photo provided by Alleviant)

Back in 2020, Alleviant Health Centers LLC of Little Rock was proud of its headquarters renovation plans, pledging to spend $8.3 million to renovate nearly 30,000 SF of leased space at Premier Medical Plaza in west Little Rock. Move-in was set for February 2021, Alleviant CEO Brian Mears said at the time.

Now, facing a lawsuit over unpaid rent, Alleviant is saying it never occupied the space at 10901 N. Rodney Parham Road and never even had a key. Its landlord, P.G.A. Land & Realty LLC of Little Rock, sued in November, saying Alleviant has paid no rent since June 2021.

The expansion project Mears touted in 2020 qualified for state and Little Rock city incentive programs that encourage business expansion and renovations, but whether Alleviant received any incentive money is unknown to Whispers at this time.

Under the terms of its lease with P.G.A., Alleviant was required to pay rent and other expenses at regular intervals until 2034. Its monthly rent last year was $62,500, according to a lease agreement filed as evidence.

P.G.A. asked for immediate possession of the property and an undetermined amount of damages. Last month, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen issued an order that allowed P.G.A. to evict the management services company.

Alleviant’s response was that it never had keys to the premises “nor has it ever occupied the space,” according to a filing by attorneys William David Duke and Mitchell S. Dennis of Gill Ragon Owen of Little Rock.

Duke told Whispers last week that Alleviant “was encouraged to become a tenant in more space than they could afford.” And it has spent about $1 million in rents and other fees for the unoccupied space, he said.

Alleviant had offered to surrender the property before P.G.A. filed the lawsuit. It also tried to negotiate itself out of the lease “for a considerable period of time,” Duke said. “And basically couldn’t get any communication going with any of the brokers or the managers of the property.”

Alleviant “would love to get this issue resolved with” P.G.A., he said.

In its court filing, Alleviant denied P.G.A.’s allegations and asked that the case be dismissed.

P.G.A.’s attorney, John Baker of Mitchell Williams Selig Gates & Woodyard of Little Rock, said via email, “We are unable to comment given the current litigation between the parties.”