Business Matters

Redevelopment group gains a lot of ground with gift of 200 acres

There are very few scenarios where giving away 200 acres makes good financial sense.

Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority executive director Ivy Owen figured he had such a scenario. That is what prompted him to ask the organization's board of directors to donate 200 acres to the proposed osteopathic medical school in February 2014.

Owen figured such a high-profile project would spur additional development interest within the 7,000 acres of mixed-use land that makes up Chaffee Crossing. That hunch was a good one, it appears.

Land across the street that hadn't sold for $25,000 an acre sold for $47,000 within 24 hours of the announcement. Property value nearly doubled nearby, and interest in the land grew substantially thanks to the 200-acre donation.

Total land sales/donations for 2014 were 324.5 acres, generating $2.5 million for the redevelopment authority. There are approximately 3,200 acres still available, including parcels zoned for industrial development.

Once Interstate 49 is open through the property, additional growth is expected. Leasing work continues on tenants for a proposed mall and 1,123 residential units are under contract.

Expect more residential construction at Chaffee Crossing as employers are added. Currently, 1,116 people work full-time jobs at businesses housed on the land that used to be part of Fort Chaffee. A 200,000-square-foot facility built for $100 million by Mitsubishi, but never opened, is on the market.

Restaurants and retail are continuing to evaluate the area. This summer will bring the opening of the first restaurant. Red Rooster Bistro is building inside the old Maness Schoolhouse, a nearly 80-year-old building that is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Owen figures more restaurants -- the national chains -- can't be far behind. National grocery and retail options, too.

A pair of recent groundbreakings at Chaffee Crossing -- one in March, one in April -- represented $110 million worth of projects. The osteopathic medical school has a proposed $80 million facility in the works, and ArcBest is building a $30 million corporate headquarters.

Owen's decision to give away those 200 acres should continue to pay dividends once the school is up and running. He tried a similar approach with the Fort Smith School District that has yet to pay off the same way. Chaffee Crossing earmarked 90 acres at no cost for a proposed third high school in Fort Smith. Funding and other issues have stalled that plan, and the clock is ticking on a donation that has to be used by 2021.

When we talked recently, Owen described the high school as a "missing link." Until a commitment is made on the school, that 90-acre gift might not pay off the way Owen had hoped.

There is always a chance the property is given back. And if that happens, Owen has a plan for it.

"We could sure sell it."

SundayMonday Business on 04/26/2015

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