BENTONVILLE, ARK. — Walmart, a Bentonville-based discount retailer, has released plans to hire approximately 150,000 new store associates, with most of the job positions being permanent and full-time. The retailer wants to hire new employees ahead of the holiday season to ensure its stores are highly staffed for the predicted busy months. This July, the discount retailer announced it will invest approximately $1 billion over the next five years to pay college tuition and books for employees via its education program called Live Better U. Walmart also offers an average hourly wage of $16.40, with some jobs at the stores paying as much as $34 an hour. Other benefits include on-the-job and classroom training, affordable health insurance, a 10 percent discount on general merchandise and food for associates, as well as paid time off, no-cost counseling, 401(k) and parental leave. This hiring news follows the announcement the retailer made at the beginning of September in which Walmart planned to hire 20,000 new supply-chain employees in order to keep up with the company’s recent revenue growth. The company saw an increase of 2.4 percent year-over-year in revenue in its fiscal second quarter of 2021, which ended on July 31. The company …
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, ARK. — The New York office of Colliers Mortgage has arranged an $11.3 million Fannie Mae loan for the acquisition of The Pointe North Hills Phase II, an 86-unit, market-rate apartment community in North Little Rock. The pet-friendly property was constructed in 2020 and shares resort-style amenities with Phase I of the property, including a 24-hour fitness center, pool, two private movie theaters, virtual fitness studio and sports simulator lounge. The borrower is The Pointe North Hills LLC. The seller was not disclosed. The loan features a 10-year term and 30-year amortization.
FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. AND TALLAHASSEE, FLA. — Cushman & Wakefield has secured $73 million in acquisition financing for two student housing properties in Arkansas and Florida. The borrowers, GFH Financial Group and Student Quarters, received the fixed-rate financing for VOX in Tallahassee and The Avenue in Fayetteville. Guardian Life Insurance provided the seven-year financing. VOX is a 602-bed student housing property serving Florida State University. Completed in 2020, the property features a mix of one- through five-bedroom floor plans, all offering bed-bath parity. Community amenities include an outdoor interval training center, a two-story indoor fitness center, social lounge, an outdoor courtyard and fire pit and a covered parking garage. The Avenue is a 652-bed student housing property serving the University of Arkansas. Built in the fall of 2019, The Avenue offers two- and four-bedroom floorplans, all offering bed-bath parity. Community amenities include 507 parking spaces, a fitness center and a swimming pool with cabanas. Gideon Gil, Alex Lapidus, Meredith Donovan and Sebastian Sanchez of Cushman & Wakefield arranged the loan on behalf of the borrowers.
JONESBORO, ARK. — DLP Capital has acquired Stadium Place, a 200-unit affordable housing property located in Jonesboro. The addition of the community increases the number of DLP Capital-owned apartment homes in the greater Memphis area to 568 units. The sales price and seller were not disclosed. The buyer plans to rebrand the property as DLP Jonesboro. Built in 2000, DLP Jonesboro includes one-, two- and three-bedroom units across 10 buildings. Community amenities include a swimming pool, fitness center, playground, picnic areas and a basketball court. DLP Capital plan to make external and internal renovations and improvements throughout the community, including maintenance on HVAC systems, landscaping and drainage and replacing the roofs. Located at 3719 Stadium Blvd., the property is located near downtown Jonesboro’s major retail centers and restaurants and about 1.6 miles from Arkansas State University. The property is close to major highway routes and is about 70.6 miles from Memphis.
BENTONVILLE, ARK. — Walmart Inc. plans to hire 20,000 more supply chain employees in order to keep up with the retailer’s recent growth. Walmart released a statement a few weeks ago saying that the company saw an increase in revenue by 2.4 percent year-over-year in its fiscal second quarter of 2021, which ended on July 31. The new employees will be hired across more than 250 Walmart and Sam’s Club distribution centers, fulfillment centers and transportation offices. The Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer will offer job roles including order fillers, freight handlers, lift drivers, technicians and management positions. The roles will be on a permanent basis and the new employees will be hired for both full-time and part-time positions. The average wage for the supply chain positions is $20.37 per hour. For new employees, Walmart has opened six new Walmart Academies, which have been established to train associates with both classroom and floor training in specialized supply chain skills, as well as soft skills such as leadership and communications. During the company’s fiscal year in 2021, 5,900 employees were trained via the Walmart U.S. Supply Chain Academy. In July 2021, the national discount retailer also announced that it will invest about $1 …
BENTONVILLE, ARK. — Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) has seen an increase in revenue during its fiscal second quarter of 2021, which ended on July 31. Walmart’s total revenue was $141 billion, an increase of 2.4 percent year-over-year. According to Refinitiv, the discount retailer’s earnings per share was $1.78 adjusted, while it was expected to be $1.57, and the company’s revenue was $141.05 billion, higher than the $137.17 billion expected. The retailer revised its 2021 forecast and is now predicting its earnings per share to range from $6.20 to $6.35. Walmart’s net income declined to $4.28 billion from what it was a year prior at $6.48 billion. Walmart reported an increase in its grocery sales with 6.1 percent of revenue from groceries. The company’s food sales grew $2.4 billion more than a year ago, which CNBC attributes to customers being attracted to the cheaper food prices at Walmart. Additionally, the retailer’s e-commerce sales grew by 6 percent. Walmart predicts its global e-commerce sales will go up to $75 billion this year. CNBC also reports that grocery sales and e-commerce has slowed compared to when the pandemic first started and everyone was rushing to buy enough food, toilet paper and …
Aspen Heights, Platform Ventures Open 202-Unit Student Housing Community Near University of Arkansas
FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. — Aspen Fayetteville, a 202-unit student housing community located less than one mile from the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville, has opened ahead of schedule. Austin, Texas-based student housing developer and owner Aspen Heights developed the property and will manage it on behalf of the owner, an entity affiliated with Platform Ventures. Located on Beechwood Avenue, Aspen Fayetteville offers a mix of two-, three- and four-bedroom units that are fully furnished by Gus Design Group. Shared amenities include an indoor and outdoor fitness center, resort-style swimming pool, hot tub, lounge and study rooms, a fire pit and grilling station.
MAUMELLE, ARK. — Colliers Mortgage has provided two separate Fannie Mae Loans for the refinancing of Bay Pointe Apartments and Millwood Apartments, two multifamily communities located about 16.6 miles north of Little Rock in Maumelle. Together, the two loans totaled $2.4 million. The borrower(s) for the two refinancing transactions was not disclosed. Built in 1986, Bay Pointe Apartments includes 65 units located throughout four two-story apartment buildings, as well as a one-story residential building. Bay Pointe is located at 400 Valencia Drive and has one- or two-bedroom options. Community amenities include a business center, pool, parking and community room. Located at 200 Millwood Circle, Millwood Apartments was constructed in 1980 and includes 96 units located throughout eight two-story apartment buildings. The apartments include one-, two- and three-bedroom unit options. Community amenities include parking, a business center, community room and a pool. The Fannie Mae loan provided for Bay Pointe Apartments was a little more than $1 million and carries a 15-year term and 30-year amortization schedule. The loan provided for Millwood Apartments totaled $1.4 million. The refinancing loan carried a 15-year term and 30-year amortization schedule.
LITTLE ROCK, ARK. — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the sale of The Fitzroy Chenal, a 294-unit apartment community in Little Rock. The final price was $63.3 million or $215,306 per unit. Martin Bynum and Craig Hey of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, Huffman & Co., in the transaction. Passco Cos. was the buyer of the property. Estage is in charge of management. Constructed in 2018, the Fitzroy Chenal is located at 15401 Chenal Parkway and was 98 percent occupied as of March. Community amenities include a courtyard with fire pits, dog grooming station, 24-hour health club, garages, late-night concierge service, golf simulator room, cybercafé with java bar, pet park, resort-style pool with spa and hot tub, and a wine/card lounge. Huffman & Co. is a Little Rock-based development, construction and management firm that specializes in multifamily. Based in Irvine, Calif., Passco Cos. is a development and management firm of multifamily and commercial properties throughout the United States.
BENTONVILLE, ARK. AND ATLANTA — Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) and Atlanta-based The Home Depot (NYSE: HD) have both experienced a boost in sales for their fiscal first-quarter earnings of 2021. Home Depot’s earnings were higher than estimates by Wall Street. The home improvement retailer’s net sales increased by 32.7 percent to $37.5 billion, while Wall Street had predicted $34.9 billion. A year ago, the fiscal first-quarter net income for the company was $2.25 billion or $2.08 per share, and this year, it is $4.15 billion or $3.86 per share, higher than what Wall Street expected at $3.08. According to the CNBC, Home Depot’s increase in sales is due to a thriving housing market, despite high prices for lumber and increasing interest rates hindering the sales of newly built houses in recent months. Home Depot reported 447.2 million sales transactions, which was an increase of 19.3 percent from fiscal first-quarter 2020. The retailer also reported that customers are spending on average more money per visit, with the average total receipt price increasing 10.3 percent to $82.37. CNBC reports customers could be spending more money because prices at the store have increased. Walmart Inc. has also generated more sales in …