21-story One Union National Plaza Sells For $9.2 Million.

Did you know that a 235,600-SF office building in downtown Little Rock has a new owner?

Little Rock Union Plaza LLC of Tucson, Ariz., bought the 21-story One Union National Plaza at 124 W. Capitol Ave. for $9.2 million.

The seller is an affiliate of the state's second largest pension fund: Arkansas Public Employees Retirement Sys-tem.

You might remember that a year ago APERS sold a neighboring office building for $3.1 million.

Gupta Vanderbilt Court I Ltd., an investment group out of Taylor, Mich., acquired the 67,997-SF Two Union National Plaza at 105 W. Capitol Ave.

Both buildings never performed according to projections used to justify APERS buying the properties.

You also might recall that former state Sen. Nick Wilson of Pocahontas did prison time as a result of a federal investigation that disclosed he pocketed $330,000 in real estate referral fees in connection with the sale of both buildings.

The money was paid to Wilson by John Flake, the prominent real estate broker who sold the buildings to the pension fund on behalf of Worthen Banking Corp. and insurance exec James "Bum" Atkins.

Flake said Wilson misled him about having a real estate license (a legal requirement for Wilson to collect a referral fee), while Wilson indicated Flake initiated the fee-splitting arrangement.

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