Baptist Health Pays $3M for Little Rock Space (Real Deals)

Baptist Health purchased one unit in the Hickingbotham Outpatient Center. (Griffin Coop)

Baptist Health paid $3 million to purchase one unit of the Hickingbotham Outpatient Center on the Baptist Health campus at 9500 Kanis Road in Little Rock, but the state’s largest health care provider isn’t planning to make any big changes. 

The nonprofit Baptist Health bought the 17,444-SF unit on the fifth floor of the multi-owner medical building from Hermitage Partners LLC, led by Dr. Chris Cate. The company purchased the unit as part of a larger $2.29 million purchase in 1998. Cate is a general surgeon with The Surgical Pavilion, which also operates in the Hickingbotham Outpatient Center.

The newly acquired space is occupied by Baptist Health Surgical Clinic of Central Arkansas, which will continue to operate in the space, Baptist Health spokeswoman Cara Wade said. Baptist Health plans to make some “minor updates” to the property, she said.

Apartment Sale

Rato LLC, an affiliate of FH Capital Holdings of Vestavia Hills, Alabama, paid $9 million for the 258-unit Spanish Rock Apartments at 11401 Mesa Drive.

The real estate investment company, which is led by Alex Ferguson and Josh Horton, acquires and renovates distressed multifamily assets across the southeast United States, Ferguson said.

The company plans to renovate the property and rebrand it as Residences at the Overlook.

“It’s a fantastic site overlooking the city, with strong bones and amenities that had simply fallen into disrepair,” Ferguson said.

The company plans to renovate about 80 apartments and an on-site laundry facility as well as a sports court. The company also plans to add a dog park and have the facility’s swimming pool open by summer, Ferguson said.

FH Capital has owned apartment complexes in Alabama, Florida and Mississippi, and Residences at the Overlook will be the company’s first venture in Arkansas.

The company bought the property from MACP Spanish Rock LLC, an affiliate of Morris Avenue Capital Partners LLC of Safety Harbor, Florida.

MACP Spanish Rock bought the property in May 2020 for $13 million from Republic Spanish Rock Ltd., an affiliate of Republic Funds of Toronto.

Timberland Purchase

Little Rock property developer Michael Orndorff and business partner Jacob Hargis have purchased 138.6 acres of timberland near the Port of Little Rock.

Orndorff and Hargis bought the property on Frazier Pike for $725,000 through MJ82 LLC from the Daniel and Clover Hale Revocable Trust.

The property, which borders the College Station community and land owned by the Port of Little Rock, is about 2 miles west of manufacturing facilities at the port.

“With all of the success the Little Rock Port has seen in recent years, this property seemed like a great opportunity for future growth, whatever that may ultimately look like,” Orndorff said.

Orndorff has developed the mixed-use Pettaway Square development on East 21st Street and said he is primiarly focused on completing the next phases of that project.

Orndorff and Hargis did not take out a mortgage on the property.

Varennes Court

The Chandler David Rackley Revocable Trust purchased a 6,498-SF house in the Varennes Court neighborhood of west Little Rock for $2.25 million.

Encore Bank of Little Rock provided a 30-year, $1,672,000 mortgage.

The trust purchased the 0.69-acre property from Matthew and Elizabeth Roach, who purchased it in 2018 from PotlatchDeltic Real Estate LLC for $400,000. Little Rock construction permits show $674,490 in declared value at the site since 2018.

Robinwood House

Blue Ridge Bedford LLC paid $1.85 million for a 10,811-SF house in the Robinwood neighborhood of west Little Rock.

The purchase included the house, which sits on a 0.66-acre lot, and an adjacent 0.91-acre lot.

The company bought the house from Winston and Kristine Patterson, who acquired it in June 2018 for $1.17 million from Harry C. Erwin III and Terri A. Erwin. Little Rock construction permits show $971,360 in declared value in projects at the address since the start of 2018.

Medical Office

David and Tabitha Houk paid $300,000 for a 2,654-SF medical office space at 4523 Woodlawn Drive.

The Houks purchased the 0.16-acre property from the Lula Ann Smith Revocable Trust and the Jessica H. Davis Trust. The Smith trust bought the property from Graham Reid in 2003 for $225,000. The Davis trust acquired its interest in the property in 2018.

David Houk, who owns Houk Performance Therapy, said the site will be home to a “boutique cash-pay physical therapy practice” and a residence. He said both will fit the “Hillcrest aesthetic.”