First National Bank Puts $2M Toward Power Plant Project in Paragould

A rendering of the reimagined power station facility in Paragould. (City of Paragould)

First National Bank of Paragould said this week that it will contribute $2 million to help transform the 100-year-old Power Plant facility on East Poplar Street in Paragould into an event venue.

The bank, with $2.4 billion in assets as of June 30, said it is working on the project as part of a public-private partnership with the city. With the contribution, the bank will receive naming rights to the facility.

“First National Bank was born here in downtown Paragould 134 years ago,” Chairman Will Brewer said in a news release. “Since then, we’ve grown from here and are still running a much larger, but still locally-owned, bank right here in our hometown. This investment is about more than just putting our name on a building; it’s about giving back to our home.”

Called “The Station powered by First National Bank,” the reimagined power plant facility will be a multi-use event facility with theater-style seating for more than 700 people — nearly 500 people in a banquet-type accommodation.

According to the bank, there will be an outdoor area that includes an amphitheater with lawn seating and dressing rooms that will allow the venue to host festivals, Downtown After Hours, and a variety of entertainment and community events. The city will manage and maintain the property and oversee construction of the new space.

“This is a historic and monumental time in the City of Paragould,” Mayor Josh Agee said. “This project enjoys the largest umbrella of collaborative partners to ever work together to see a project through. That collaboration is matched with the largest financial commitment to ever be received by the City.”

First National Bank also released conceptual plans for a redesign of its downtown Paragould campus. It said it will give its existing customer service office a face-lift and interior upgrade while also removing some older structures to make way for green space, better traffic flow and safer, easier access to company buildings. It said it plans to release more information about the project at a later date.

First National Bank has operated from downtown Paragould since 1889.

First National Bank has 23 locations in Arkansas and Tennessee. It started as Bank of Paragould in 1889 before being granted a national charter in 1903 and changing its name to First National Bank.