UA trustees listen to $20M plan for more recreation sites

Project could transform ‘homeless’ land south of MLK Boulevard

Mike Johnson, associate vice chancellor for facilities at the University of Arkansas, speaks Thursday during the University of Arkansas System trustees meeting at the Janelle Y. Hembree Alumni House on campus in Fayetteville.
Mike Johnson, associate vice chancellor for facilities at the University of Arkansas, speaks Thursday during the University of Arkansas System trustees meeting at the Janelle Y. Hembree Alumni House on campus in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- An estimated $20 million project will turn about 106 acres of land into playing fields and courts for University of Arkansas at Fayetteville students by summer 2019, the university's associate vice chancellor for facilities said Thursday at a University of Arkansas System trustees meeting.



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Depending on negotiations with the city of Fayetteville, the project could transform an area south of Martin Luther King Boulevard that's lately been a site of violence within the city's homeless community, Mike Johnson told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Other planned projects outlined by Johnson include an estimated $11.7 million expansion of UA's campus health center; an $11.4 million high-density library storage building, where forklifts will be used to reach 45-foot-tall shelves; and an $11.6 million renovation of a well-used academic building, Kimpel Hall.

Johnson presented the information to trustees during a session of the UA System's Building and Grounds Committee, with final approval pending a vote by the full trustees board today.

At the meeting, Johnson described three sites set to be transformed for future recreational needs, with six flag football or soccer fields to be added along with four softball fields, three basketball courts, four volleyball courts and up to 12 tennis courts.

Funding would come from general obligation bonds that would be financed through a facilities fee paid by students, as well as some campus reserve funds, according to documents presented to the board.

Johnson said UA has about 10 acres in use as recreational playing fields for students, noting that with the growth in enrollment, students have been seeking additional recreational areas for years.

The largest single site is about 72 acres at South Cato Springs and South Razorback roads, which is about 1.7 miles south of the main campus. UA purchased the land last year.

Johnson told the Democrat-Gazette that the hilly site will be the most expensive to transform because "we're going to have to move some dirt."

He said it will likely take approximately $15 million to turn the site into a recreational area for students, adding that he hopes a design can incorporate a hilltop area.

"You can see Old Main from there," said Johnson, referring to an academic building that's a campus landmark.

A much smaller site that could be used for tennis courts sits behind a row of fast-food restaurants. Currently leased by UA in a deal with the city, the general area was the site of what police described as a homicide earlier this year, as well as a machete attack.

Homeless people have long gathered in wooded parts of the area.

"We've been working on it for a while," Johnson said of a deal with the city, adding that an agreement might be reached within three or four months.

If such an agreement is reached, tennis courts -- along with lights and fencing -- could be completed in roughly a year to 18 months, Johnson said.

Metro on 11/20/2015

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