New Owners Plan Renovations to Fayetteville's EJ Ball Building

Specialized Real Estate Group of Fayetteville and Moses Tucker Real Estate of Little Rock announced Wednesday the purchase of the E.J. Ball Building in Fayetteville.

The seven-story, nearly 58,000-SF tower is adjacent to the Fayetteville Square and near the Block Street retail district, startup incubators and the Fayetteville Farmers' Market.

"There's a lack of Class-A office space in downtown Fayetteville, and this building offers panoramic views and proximity to Arkansas' best farmers' market," Jeremy Hudson, SREG's CEO, said in a news release. "We are thrilled to partner with Moses Tucker, who have reinvented downtown Little Rock, and we can't wait to make EJ Ball a point of pride for Fayetteville."

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. The new owners purchased the building from Ball Plaza Holdings LLC, registered to Ted Belden of Fayetteville.

Zak Kifer, sales associate for Moses Tucker, said that while the building is 60 percent occupied, he thinks the right renovation work and marketing can get it near full capacity quickly.

"There's not really much office space in downtown Fayetteville, period," Kifer told Arkansas Business. "We expect it to fill up quickly. We think marketing firms, law firms and young entrepreneurial offices will fill the space."

Among the building's current tenants is cybersecurity provider Metova, which marked its grand opening there in February, planning to employ about 30 people.

Kifer said the new owners plan to update the building's exterior. Renovations inside the building will be determined by what tenants they're able to attract. The ground floor will most likely be occupied by restaurants, he said.

Kifer also said they hope to start renovations before the end of the year. He did not know how much they would spend.

"Redevelopment of the EJ Ball is the first significant project for Moses Tucker in northwest Arkansas and one that is aligned with our philosophy of building strong core cities," said Jamie Moses, director of development for Moses Tucker Real Estate. "With local support of the downtown square and a great partner in Specialized Real Estate Group we expect that this project will add to the neighborhood's momentum."