# Resolution and Memorandum of Understanding — City of Little Rock & Willowbend Capital LLC > *Near-verbatim extract of the 7-page City of Little Rock board-agenda document (agenda item R-3 for the 2025-04-29 board meeting): a Resolution authorizing the MOU, followed by the Memorandum of Understanding itself as Exhibit A, and Appendix A. Pure boilerplate (severability, repealer) is summarized; substantive terms are transcribed faithfully. The original PDF is preserved alongside this file.* ## Source metadata - **Publisher:** City of Little Rock (littlerock.gov) — Board of Directors meeting agenda, 2025-04-29 - **URL:** https://www.littlerock.gov/city-administration/board-of-directors/meeting-agenda/AGENDA%20-%20WEB%20-%204-29-2025/R%20-%203%20LRPA%20-%20MOU.pdf - **Archived:** 2026-05-22, by PowerShell Invoke-WebRequest - **Wayback snapshot:** https://web.archive.org/web/20250823112617/ (existing capture, 2025-08-23) ## Extract ### Resolution (page 1) "A RESOLUTION TO AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH WILLOWBEND CAPITAL LLC FOR A DEVELOPMENT PROJECT AT THE LITTLE ROCK PORT; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES." The resolution recites that the City of Little Rock "has been in negotiations with several entities and with Willowbend Capital, LLC, as to a development project to be built and operated at the Little Rock Port," and authorizes the Mayor and City Clerk to execute the MOU attached as Exhibit A. **Adopted April 29, 2025.** Attest: Allison Segars, City Clerk. Approved: Frank Scott, Jr., Mayor. Approved as to legal form: Thomas M. Carpenter, City Attorney. (Standard severability and repealer clauses included.) ### Exhibit A — Memorandum of Understanding **I. Project Overview.** "Willowbend Capital LLC (the 'Company') is evaluating the City of Little Rock ('City') for a site that would allow for the construction of an approximately 300,000 square foot data center facility ('Data Center'), including ancillary buildings and infrastructure (the 'Project')." Anticipated investment ~$1,000,000,000; ~50 new high-quality jobs; expandable to "one or more additional data center facilities." **II. Annual Company Contribution.** In addition to property taxes (or payments in lieu), the Company shall make an annual "City Enrichment Investment" to the City (see Appendix A). The City may use it for (i) infrastructure improvements benefiting the Project or (ii) initiatives aligned with the Company's core values — sustainability, education, job training, public safety, public infrastructure, technology, economic development. **III. City Commitments.** - (a) The City will support "at [a] net real and personal property tax abatement of at least 65% for 30 years" for the Data Center and each additional facility; bond structures "broad and flexible" — "build-out and equipping periods of at least thirty years; maximum investment levels of at least $10,000,000,000 for real property and $50,000,000,000 for personal property." - (b) Reduce the electric franchise fee to **0.25%** for the Project, and work with the Company and **Entergy Arkansas** to negotiate a replacement franchise ordinance. - (c) Reduce the water franchise fee to **0%** for the Project's domestic and cooling water. - (d) Reduce the sewer franchise fee to **0%** for domestic sewer and cooling-water blowdown. - (e)–(f), (h)–(i) Non-imposition / non-discrimination commitments on other fees, taxes, and assessments. - (g) The Company pays standard building/electrical/plumbing/mechanical/fire permit fees; the City caps total standard permit fees per data center at **$200,000**. **IV. Infrastructure.** - (a) The City, the Company, **Central Arkansas Water**, and the **Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority (LRWRA)** cooperate on water, sewer, cooling-water-blowdown, and road infrastructure. The MOU does not supersede prior executed documents: a "Reimbursement Agreement for Evaluation of Increased Flow at Fourche Creek WRF" (Company–LRWRA, October 2024); a "Proposed Letter of Service – **Project Boar**" signed by LRWRA on **October 17, 2024**; and a "Central Arkansas Water Will Serve Letter – high-level term sheet" dated **February 3, 2025**. - (b)(i) Central Arkansas Water designs/permits/builds a water-supply extension to the site (paid by the Company). (b)(ii) LRWRA designs/permits a dedicated cooling-tower blowdown discharge line from the site to the **Fourche Creek Water Reclamation Facility**, including Arkansas DEQ permitting (paid by the Company). (b)(iii) LRWRA provides domestic sewer access from an existing 30-inch force main along **Zeuber Road**. - (c) Except for the **Zeuber Road extension** — funded by the City of Little Rock or Pulaski County, "including but not limited to funding from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, Arkansas Department of Transportation, United States Economic Development Administration, and the Delta Regional Authority" — other infrastructure may be undertaken by the City but paid by the Company. - (e)–(f) Non-discrimination in utility charges; new LRWRA and Central Arkansas Water rates per recognized rate-study frameworks. **Signature page.** Four blank signature blocks: WILLOWBEND CAPITAL LLC; CITY OF LITTLE ROCK; CENTRAL ARKANSAS WATER; LITTLE ROCK WATER RECLAMATION AUTHORITY. **Appendix A — Payment Structure.** The City Enrichment Investment is **$300,000 per year** to the City of Little Rock, first paid within 60 days of the initial Data Center's certificate of occupancy, then annually by March 31; **+$200,000 for each additional Data Center**; subject to a **2% increase every five years**; ending the last year the Data Center is under a Property Tax Abatement. ## Notes - **Tier 2** — a primary public record published by the City of Little Rock (a `.gov` publisher): the board resolution and MOU for the Port of Little Rock data center. - The MOU's developer is **[[Willowbend Capital, LLC]]**; the project's internal codename, per the infrastructure-agreement references, is **"Project Boar."** The project has been in motion since at least October 2024. - The structure closely parallels the April 1, 2025 Conway / [[Forgelight Ventures, LLC]] MOU — same ~300,000 SF / ~$1B / ~50-job profile, the same 65%/30-year abatement, the same $10B/$50B bond ceilings, the same expandable-campus language — consistent with a single developer using a common template through twin Delaware shells. - Cited by: [[The Port of Little Rock Data Center]], [[Willowbend Capital, LLC]]