Pulse
of Conway
Major Conway solar project gets financing A massive solar project that will generate enough electricity to power more than 21,400 homes in Conway has secured financing and will begin construction in March.
The premier source for business news in the North Metro region. JANUARY 2022
PulseOfConway.com
Scott Ford, CEO and co-founder of Westrock Coffee Company, speaks at a Dec. 16 event announcing Westrock Coffee’s purchase of the former Kimberly-Clark plant, an investment of $100 million in the facility and 250 new jobs.
Holiday announcements energize Conway economy Projects include largest capital investment in city’s history The expansion of an existing manufacturer, the addition of a new technology company, and the largest private capital investment in Conway’s history made for a very busy holiday season. Westrock Coffee Company announced plans to expand its operations to Conway in the largest capital investment project in the city’s history. Westrock purchased the former Kimberly-Clark plant and plans to invest more than $100 million and create 250 jobs. “I don’t think we could have been more fortunate to find a match for this facility,” Brad Lacy, president and CEO of the Conway Area Chamber of
Commerce and Conway Development Corporation, said. “Not only are we filling a specialized facility, we’re doing it with a company that is growing rapidly, holds a great reputation and is led by a family who knows how to grow a business. We’re fortunate to be a part of that story now.” Westrock Coffee, headquartered in Little Rock, is the leading integrated coffee, tea and extract service provider in the country. Westrock sources its coffee and tea from 35 countries and partners with local farmers to provide sustainable agriculture education and better growing practices. Continued on page 5.
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table of
Contents 05 06
Cover Story Holiday Announcements Energize Conway Economy
Pulse
of Conway EDITOR | Adena J. White GRAPHIC DESIGNER | Kara Darling DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS | Lee Hogan
Economic Development News Major Conway Solar Project Gets Financing
RESEARCH AND STATISTICS VICE PRESIDENT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | Corey Parks
07 09
Real Estate The Top 5 Residential Real Estate Transactions What’s that gonna be? Rock-N-Roll Sushi Coming to Lewis Ranch
ADVERTISING SALES CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER | Lindsay Henderson DIRECTOR OF SALES & MEMBER ENGAGEMENT | Leo Cummings III
ADMINISTRATION CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER | Laura Grimes
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Economy at a Glance Key Economic Indicators for Conway
SENIOR ACCOUNTANT | Jennifer Hiegel-Shelden
CONWAY PUBLICATIONS EDITORIAL BOARD Johnny Adams Bill Adkisson
events
Calendar 25
Lori Melton Lori Ross Jeff Standridge
F E B R UA R Y Conway Area Leadership Institute 2022 Application Deadline PRESIDENT & CEO | Brad Lacy
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MARCH Annual Meeting APRIL Off the Clock: Catfish & Cold Ones
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT | Jamie Gates
900 OAK STREET CONWAY, ARKANSAS 72032 501-327-7788 news@pulseofconway.com
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A P R I L - M AY Toad Suck Daze
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Construction Round-Up Get up-to-date on the latest commercial projects in Conway. Read more at pulseofconway.com.
A sample of local commercial new construction and remodel projects: 10/01/21 Evergreen Bridal | 1022 Oak St. 10/18/21 Hungry Howie’s | 2235 Dave Ward Drive 10/28/21 Crumbl Cookies | 1100 South Amity Road, Ste. F 11/15/21
Rogers Group (Remodel) | 1223 Front St.
11/22/21
Target (Remodel) | 501 Elsinger Blvd.
11/23/21
Rock-N-Roll Sushi | 975 South Amity Road
12/15/21 Family Dollar | 205 Oak St.
Source: Arkansas Department of Health *This list and overall total does not include projects at the University of Central Arkansas.
Top Five Commercia Construction Projects in 2021* New commercial construction projects totaled more than $39.9 million in Conway in 2021. Here are the top five commercial construction projects:
No. 5: Arnold Innovation Center $2.27 million, Nabholz Construction, 1201 Oak St. No. 4: Caliber Collision $2.5 million, Z Contractors, 1030 Collier Drive No. 3: Conway Christian School addition $6.5 million, NBMC, 500 E. German Lane No. 2: Courtyard by Marriott $9.17 million, Maly Construction, 1301 E. Dave Ward Drive No. 1: St. Joseph High School $10.9 million, Nabholz Construction, 502 Front St.
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COVER STORY
It was founded in 2009 by Scott and Joe Ford. It has distribution facilities in North Little Rock; Concord, North Carolina; and Las Vegas, Nevada. Westrock Coffee employs more than 800 worldwide. Lacy said the addition of Westrock Coffee puts Conway in the middle of a growing industry sector that has never been part of Conway’s business profile. The Conway facility will be used to develop, produce and distribute Westrock’s coffee, tea and readyto-drink products and provide space for a product development lab to create, test and produce new beverages. “We are expanding our finished product offerings, adding end beverage packaging solutions, and expanding our geographic reach to meet our growing customer demand,” Scott Ford, CEO and cofounder of Westrock Coffee, said in a news release. “Our growth benefits everyone at Westrock Coffee — from our global customers and farmer partners to our current and future employees and the communities where they live.”
ANNOUNCEMENT HIGHLIGHTS NEW LOCATION EXPANSION
$160 million CAPITAL INVESTMENT
$18.3 million CAPITAL INVESTMENT
250 NEW JOBS $28 AVG. HOURLY WAGE
$23.94
AVG. HOURLY WAGE
33 NEW JOBS
Fifty jobs will be created in Conway following phase one of the site build out — expected to be completed by early 2023 — with a total of 250 jobs over time. The full build-out is estimated to take the company 2-5 years to complete. The jobs created will be advanced and highly skilled positions with some salaries reaching more than $100,000. On the heels of the Westrock Coffee announcement, WestRock – a sustainable paper and packaging solutions company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia – announced plans to invest $18.3 million in its Conway facility at 198 Commerce Road and create 33 new jobs.
Acoustic will occupy offices on the second floor of downtown Conway’s iconic Halter Building.
WestRock was formed with the
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NEW LOCATION
20 NEW JOBS $38
AVG. HOURLY WAGE
merger of RockTenn and Mead. It is one of the world’s largest paper and packaging companies. The Conway facility has been in operation for more than 50 years and currently employs more than 250. Finally, Georgia-headquartered Acoustic announced a new Conway location along with plans to increase its engineering and customer support functions while adding 20 jobs. The new positions will have an have an average salary of more than $80,000. Acoustic is one of the world’s largest independent marketing clouds with more than 3,500 companies across the world as customers. It currently employs 10 in its downtown Conway location. “I’ve spent some of the best years of my career working in Arkansas,” Acoustic CEO Dennis Self, said in a news release. “The Conway area is a wonderful place to both live and work. As we emerged from being fully remote, we evaluated the best locations to invest in physical office space, and Conway was at the top of our list. This is an exciting time in Acoustic’s growth, and we’re thrilled to officially become a part of the local technology community.”
Major Conway solar project gets financing Construction to start in March, be operational by mid-2023 A massive solar project that will generate enough electricity to power more than 21,400 homes in Conway has secured financing and will begin construction in March. The solar farm, located in Happy, Arkansas, is set to be operational by mid-2023, according to the company overseeing the construction and operation of the facility. Lightsource BP, the owner and operator of the facility, announced the update on the Conway facility – dubbed Conway Solar at Happy – on Jan. 12 as part of a 480-megawatt, $533 million financing package encapsulating several projects around the country. Lightsource BP is a jointventure involving BP, the oil and gas behemoth headquartered in
London. BP acquired a large stake in Lightsource in 2017 and rebranded the company Lightsource BP. Conway Corporation and Lightsource BP announced a longterm, power purchase agreement to develop a 135-megawatt solar farm in Happy, Arkansas, in April 2020. Lightsource BP will own and operate the facility and deliver the solar-generated power to Conway Corp customers. “Our mission is to provide safe, affordable, reliable, innovative and environmentally sound service to our customers,” said Conway Corp CEO Bret Carroll. “This solar project checks all those boxes. It is a project that will have lasting impact on our community. We look forward to working with Lightsource BP to get
the project under construction and delivering service to our customers.” Lightsource BP said construction of the solar farm will create approximately 200 jobs. The majority of the construction jobs will come from local workers, the company said in a news release. Conway Solar at Happy will feature more than 300,000 solar panels across nearly 700 acres. It will lower Conway’s annual carbon footprint by 162,800 metric tons, the equivalent of about 35,000 cars. “As the owner and operator of the Conway solar farm at Happy, we look forward to bringing economic benefits to the region, along with fostering long-term community partnerships,” said Lightsource BP CEO of the Americas Kevin Smith. PulseOfConway.com 6
REAL ESTATE
Faulkner County Top 5 Residential Real Estate Transactions The top five recent home sales in Faulkner County averaged more than $719,000 and more than $185 per square foot. Three of the top five homes sold in Conway, and two sold in Greenbrier.
CITY
PRICE
PRICE PER SQ. FT.
DAYS ON MARKET
APPROX SQ. FT.
BEDS
FULL BATHS
Greenbrier
$880,000
$162.66
136
5410
5
5
525 Audubon Place
Conway
$875,000
$197.52
143
4430
5
3
1710 Winterbrook Drive
Conway
$716,361
$205.79
0
3481
4
3
Greenbrier
$635,000
$206.71
16
3072
4
3
Conway
$490,000
$154.09
26
3180
4
3
ADDRESS 19 Harbor Drive
261 Garrison Road 1505 Briley Drive
The
Ladder
A roundup of new hires, promotions and employee awards. Submit your company news and updates to news@pulseofconway.com.
Conway Regional adds provider to Hendrix Medical Clinic Rachel Neal, a physician assistant, has joined the Conway Regional Hendrix Medical Clinic at 1700 Altus St., Suite 110. The Hendrix Medical Clinic provides primary care to Hendrix students, faculty, and staff as well as the public. Mainstream Technologies hires Bill Napier Mainstream Technologies has hired Bill Napier as a software developer. His responsibilities include design, development and deployment of full-stack software solutions. Conway Corp announces employee awards, promotions Chad Hogan, water systems foreman, received the Tower of Excellence Award, which recognizes an employee who has made a significant impact on Conway Corp through outstanding dedication and exceptional job performance. Brent Fason, safety coordinator, received the Safety Leadership Award, and Nicole Pizzolato, customer care leader, received the Customer Service Award. Jim Clark was promoted to human resources director. Clark began at Conway Corp in 2019 as a human resources specialist. He was named assistant director of human resources in July. First Security Bank recognizes service, honors employees Carol Harrison was recognized for 30 years of service. Harrison was one of the first employees at the bank when it opened in Conway in 1991 as First Community Bank. Mike Baldwin, Melissa Hamilton and Shonna Battles were recognized for 25 years of service. Mike Milner, Kimberly Lassiter, Karen New, Lisa Hegeman and Margaret Smith were recognized for 20 years of service. Katelyn Kocher received the 2021 Bank Better Award, which recognizes a bank employee for going above and
beyond the corporate standard and providing secondmile service for customers. Treva Branscum was the bank’s Volunteer of the Year Award recipient. The award recognizes an employee who volunteers outside the bank at organizations and nonprofits during the year and includes a contribution to the organization or nonprofit of the recipient’s choosing. Branscum chose Bethlehem House Food Pantry for her contribution. Elite Services gives annual employee awards Sheila Stephenson was named the 2021 Employee of the Year and Kevin Bailey received the 2021 Outstanding Customer Service Winner. Karen Ferguson Team adds marketing manager The Karen Ferguson Team at RE/MAX Elite has added Miriam Phwandaphwanda as its customer experience and marketing manager. United Way adds 5, elects new officers The following new board members have been elected for three-year terms ending Dec. 31, 2024, and join 20 others currently serving on the board: Destiny Lankford, mortgage loan originator at Centennial Bank. Justin McCarty, community banker at Simmons Bank. Rusty Mosley, lending officer at First Security Bank. David DeRosa, financial advisor at Cardinal Investment Group. Karen Walker, community education manager at Arkansas PBS United Way of Central Arkansas elected Brandi Keith as president, Crystal Kemp as vice president, and Julie Carmichael as secretary. Erin Simpson was re-elected as treasurer and finance chair.
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What’s that gonna be? The latest news on new businesses, shops and stores coming to Conway. Read more about new Conway developments at pulseofconway.com
Rock-N-Roll Sushi to anchor spec strip center 8,860-square-foot building located on Amity Drive Rock-N-Roll Sushi is coming soon to Lewis Ranch in Conway. The restaurant will anchor the 8,860-square-foot building owned by Lewis Ranch, LLC. The construction is being completed by Mulhearn Wilson Constructors of Maumelle. It will be located at 975 S. Amity Drive between Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux and Denny’s. Rock-N-Roll Sushi offers popular, well-known rolls like spicy crawfish, spicy shrimp, California, shrimp tempura, salmon, veggie, volcano and tuna, in addition to its own unique rolls like VIP, Crowd Surfer, Electric, Punk Rock and Thriller.
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Economy at a Glance The key economic indicators for Conway and Faulkner County.
LABOR
November 2021 Civilian Labor Force
Unemployment Rate 1,354,102
162,052,000 Seasonally Adjusted
U.S. 162,009,000
AR 1,352,990
Conway 33,511
Faulkner Co. 60,833
U.S.
AR
U.S.
AR
Conway
Faulkner Co.
4.2%
3.4%
3.9%
2.2%
1.9%
1.9%
Seasonally Adjusted
Not Seasonally Adjusted
Not Seasonally Adjusted
TAX COLLECTIONS Sales & Use Tax - December 2021
Restaurant Sales Tax* - YTD
Hotel Sales Tax - YTD
Conway
Conway
Conway
2021 $3,663,623.66 2020 $2,884,450.47
2.125% TAX RATE
25.97% change
2021 $4,716,978.28
2021 $403,622.68
$3,806,640.80
2020 $256,396.62
2020
23.91% change
57.42% change
Faulkner County
2021 $1,129,979.37 2020 $912,793.30 23.79% change
0.5% TAX RATE
$ *includes mixed drink sales
SINGLE FAMILY HOME SALES
Year to Date (December 2021)
Home Permits
Homes Sold
Home Sales
Average Home Price
Conway
Conway
Conway
Conway
2021 408
2021 831
2021 $204,434,692
2021 $246,010
2020 348
2020 901
2020 $201,305,216
2020 $223,424
17.24% change
-7.77% change
Faulkner County
1.55% change
10.11% change
Faulkner County
Faulkner County
2021 1743
2021 $409,642,302
2021 $235,021
2020 1864
2020 $399,012,933
2020 $214,063
-6.49% change
2.66% change
View more economic data at pulseofconway.com
9.79% change
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