Historic LR building bought for $16.5 million

A Chicago-based pension fund is paying $16.5 million to purchase the Mann Building in downtown Little Rock at 322 Main St. The 112,000-square-foot building houses office and retail tenants, including Samantha’s Tap Room & Wood Grill.

The property was built in 1906 and was home to the Blass Department Store. It was fully renovated in 2013. The property was sold by Mann Development LLC, which is comprised of Jimmy Moses, Rett Tucker, Rog Rogers, Barbara Hoover and Tommy Lasiter. The name of the pension fund was not disclosed.

The transaction was bolstered by the combined use of historic tax credits and new market tax credits, according to Moses, co-chairman of Newmark Moses Tucker Partners in Little Rock. The company is the leasing and property management firm for the seven-story Mann Building and will continue to provide those services.

“We utilized both forms of tax credits to make the project work,” Moses said. “I don’t think it has been done, to our knowledge, previously in Arkansas. The tax credits were crucial to making the deal happen.”

Mann Development will continue ownership of adjoining properties, including the building next door on Main Street that houses Bruno’s Little Italy and the 399-space parking deck at Louisiana and Fourth streets. The Pulaski County assessor’s office has an appraised value on all the properties of $9.8 million.

The purchase is a positive sign for the commercial real estate market in Little Rock, according to Chris Moses, president and chief executive officer of Newmark Moses Tucker.