FAYETTEVILLE -- Another major apartment complex is planned in the area around the Northwest Arkansas Mall.
City Council members on Tuesday voted, 5-2, in favor of zoning for multifamily development on 17.7 acres northeast of Van Asche Drive and Steele Boulevard. The vacant land lies south of Academy Sports, behind the Steele Crossing shopping center, where Target, Kohl's and PetSmart are, and down the street from another major apartment complex in the works.
Fayetteville City Council
In other business Tuesday, the City Council:
• Approved a $164,000 contract amendment with McClelland Consulting Engineers for services related to renovating bridges on Maple and Lafayette streets.
• Agreed to pay $186,000 for a traffic signal at College Avenue and Masonic Drive.
• Authorized a $113,00 payment to the Watershed Conservation Resource Center for a stream bank restoration project.
• Approved a $50,000 contract with Webtech Wireless for software allowing the Transportation Division to track streets plowed during winter weather.
Source: Staff Report
Also on Tuesday, the City Council approved several policy changes for the Animal Services Division, one of which will make it illegal to leave a dog or cat unattended in an enclosed vehicle when the outdoor temperature is above 70 degrees and the temperature in the vehicle exceeds 100.
Violators of the new ordinance could face fines up to $500.
But, Justine Lentz, Animal Services superintendent, added, "We're never wanting to penalize someone unless we really do feel that it's warranted."
Aldermen voted, 6-1, in favor of the policy changes. John La Tour was the only City Council member to oppose the measure. Martin Schoppmeyer wasn't present at Tuesday's meeting.
According to a site plan for the northwest Fayetteville property, new zoning will allow an apartment complex with more than 300 units and 500 bedrooms to be built.
Tom Hennelly, project manager with Crafton Tull, confirmed before Tuesday's meeting Watermark Residential, a subsidiary of Terre Haute, Ind.-based Thompson Thrift, is the developer of the project.
The seven-year-old company has built or is building other "upscale" apartment complexes in Oklahoma City, West Des Moines, Iowa, Corpus Christi, Texas, and Lexington, Ky.
Thompson Thrift was also the general contractor for The Cardinal at West Center, a 150-unit, 471-bedroom student housing complex south of Center Street, across from the University of Arkansas' Harmon Avenue Garage. Unlike it and several other downtown developments where university students rent by the bedroom in mainly four-bedroom suites, tenants in the Watermark apartments will rent by the unit.
The complex will feature a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units, according to preliminary site plans. Hennelly said it will have a large clubhouse, swimming pool and picnic area along with a dog park on the north end of the property, near the Mud Creek Trail.
The trail, nearby restaurants and retail businesses and the property's close proximity to Interstate 49 were all factors in Thompson Thrift's decision to build on the site, he added.
"The apartment residents will have the opportunity to walk to a movie theater, numerous eating establishments and retail stores surrounding the property via sidewalks within the right of way and the cultural bike trail that is easily accessible from the property," according to Crafton Tull's rezoning application.
Those were some of the same things representatives for Specialized Real Estate Group and Modus Studio said when their plans for a 312-unit, 464-bedroom complex called the Uptown apartments were approved in October. The Uptown complex is just up the street on the other side of Steele Boulevard from the Watermark property. It's across the street from Academy Sports and the Malco Razorback Cinema.
Jeremy Pate, Fayetteville Development Services director, told aldermen last week planning staff was reviewing project drawings and expects to issue building permits for the Uptown development in the coming days.
Hennelly said he expects to submit plans for the Watermark project the first week of August. He said he hopes construction will begin by the end of the year and will take six to eight months to complete.
Aldermen La Tour, Adella Gray, Mark Kinion, Alan Long and Justin Tennant voted in favor of the rezoning Tuesday. Sarah Marsh and Matthew Petty opposed the measure.
Marsh and Petty said they would have preferred a "form-based" zoning designation requiring developers to build apartments right along the street right-of-way.
NW News on 07/08/2015