Lyon College signed a long-term lease to occupy multiple floors in Building 5 at Riverfront Plaza, where the new School of Dental Medicine will be located. With abundant amenities, ample parking and public transportation, the office complex offers a convenient location for patients and students.
The new Lyon College School of Dental Medicine will occupy the former offices of Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield. The building is being renovated to include space for classrooms, offices and patient care and dental simulation clinics.
This lease represents Arkansas' first and only school of dentistry. It is expected to have a significant economic impact, both in terms of training new dental students, housing them and activating the services and amenities for the new dental school.
For its role as a transformative medical education facility and activating more than 120,000 square feet of under-utilized office space, the lease for the new Lyon College School of Dental Medicine earned a 2025 CoStar Impact Award for lease of the year in Little Rock, as judged by real estate professionals familiar with the market.
The transaction is also a significant public-private partnership with Lyon College, a private institution of higher education, procuring a lease with a group of property investors in the private sector and utilizing both private and public funding to finance the needed improvements and remodeling.
About the project: The new Lyon College School of Dental Medicine will occupy 121,905 square feet across seven floors in the 12-story tower. The 25-year lease has a total contract rent value of over $71 million.
What the judges said: "Bringing an educational institution like this to our city will pay dividends for the years to come," said Gabe Holmstrom, executive director of the Downtown Little Rock Partnership.
Jason Parker, director of brokerage for Cushman & Wakefield Sage Partners, said the impact of bringing the first dental school in the state to the Riverdale area will be transformative.
Stuart Mackey, principal and executive vice president of the Hathaway Group, noted, "This lease modified a previous use for a new tenant, a bold choice that's not the typical location for a higher education user."
They made it happen: The team at Colliers Arkansas that made this deal happen includes Principal Broker Mark Bentley, Vice President Bill Pendergist, SIOR, Director of Property Management Kim Battle, President Isaac Smith and Chairman and CEO Kevin Huchingson.
CoStar Market Manager Nelda Davis contributed to this report.