A novel series of arylpiperazines has been synthesized and identified as antagonists of α1a adrenergic receptor (α1a-AR) implicated in benign prostatic hyperplasia. These compounds selectively bind to membrane bound α1a-AR with Kis as low as 0.66 nM. As such, these potentially represent a viable treatment for BPH without the side effects associated with known α1-adrenergic antagonists.