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City of Jonesboro Sued by Burrow Estate for Demolishing Former Citizens Bank Building

City of Jonesboro Sued by Burrow Estate for Demolishing Former Citizens Bank Building

Photo: Saga Communications/Rachel Rudd


Jonesboro, AR – JonesboroRightNow.com – The estate of Bruce Burrow has sued the City of Jonesboro for demolishing the former Citizens Bank building.

One Main Square LLC, which owned the building, and the executor of Bruce Burrow’s estate, Sherry Burrow, filed the lawsuit April 28 in Craighead Circuit Court. The lawsuit said the city’s demolition of the building violated the First, Fifth and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. Bruce Burrow died in February and owned One Main Square LLC.

The lawsuit claims that when the city demolished and removed the building, the property’s value was diminished and rendered “worthless in a commercial real estate setting and resulted in a complete taking of Plaintiff’s property for public use without just compensation.”

It further argues that Laurel Park LLC, which owned the land on which the building once stood, allowed the taking of the property without compensation by entering into an agreement with the city that allowed the city to access adjacent parking lots acquired from a Burrow entity to demolish the former Citizens Bank building.

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The estate is seeking compensation and costs for the demolition and removal of the building, as well as the safekeeping of any property found in the building, as well as attorney fees.

The lawsuit names the City of Jonesboro, Mayor Harold Copenhaver, and all 12 city council members as defendants.

Part of Main Street was shut down in September 2024 after a bulge was noticed on the side of the former Citizens Bank building, which was declared a public safety hazard. It was condemned in December 2024.

The city council voted in January 2025 to approve the building’s demolition. Demolition officially began in March 2025, and all streets affected by the project reopened to traffic in May 2025.

In early September 2025, the city council voted to place an over $3 million lien on the land itself to recoup demolition costs. Andrew Smith, the owner of Laurel Park LLC, appealed that decision in circuit court. The council voted in March to settle the lien litigation, with the Laurel Park paying the city $110,000 in exchange for the city removing the lien.

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This story was updated to clarify that Andrew Smith is the owner of Laurel Park LLC.

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