The Little Rock Technology Park Authority Board, meeting via conference call, voted late Monday afternoon to give Little Rock attorney Richard Mays until Friday to accept the board's offer of $845,000 for his three-story, 10,000-SF property at 415 Main St.
The board had given Mays until noon Monday (Nov. 16) to accept the offer. If he didn't, the board was prepared to file an eminent domain lawsuit on Wednesday to force Mays out.
Board member Jay Chesshir, president of the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, said he met with Mays over the weekend and that Mays requested the extension.
The board needs the 415 Main property, which houses the Mays Byrd & Associates law firm, to serve as the anchor for the $24 million Phase 1 of the tech park, the financing for which is being provided by a consortium of local banks.
Mays and the board had disagreed on the value of the property. Earlier this month, the board agreed to offer Mays $845,000 — $175,000 more than its original proposal and matching Mays' own property appraisal.
The board also voted Monday to approve a commitment letter outlining the financing of Phase 1.
The board is borrowing $17.5 million at an interest rate of 4.19 percent from the consortium, which is made up of Centennial Bank, Arvest Bank, Bear State Bank, Eagle Bank & Trust, First Arkansas Bank, First Security Bank, Malvern National Bank, Relyance Bank and Simmons Bank. Centennial Bank is the group's lead institution.
The rest of the money for the first phase is coming from the Little Rock sales tax approved by voters in 2011.