SPRINGDALE — The University of Arkansas Board of Trustees wants to rezone and sell a property in the city.
City planners approved rezoning 1.58 acres at 3559 N. Thompson St. from low/medium density single-family residential district to general commercial district. All the properties that directly surround it are zoned general commercial district, according to meeting documents.
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To learn more about Food Safety Net Services, the company under contract to purchase the property at 3559 N. Thompson St. in Spring- dale, go to www.food-safetynet.….
The board is the petitioner and intends to sell the property, according to the documents. The board has been trying to sell it for about three years, said James Ezell, director of risk and property management for the university.
The building on the property is 4,969 square feet, according to online Benton County real estate records. The property is in the northern part of Springdale and sits in Benton County.
The building on the property was a diagnostic testing laboratory from 2004 to 2010, according to the petition. The University System’s Division of Agriculture used the lab, Ezell said.
The potential buyer of the property also wants to use the building as a laboratory, according to the petition. Food Safety Net Services, a company headquartered in Texas, is under contract to purchase the property, Ezell said.
The company offers services for microbiological testing, chemical analysis and food safety, according to the company’s website. The company has laboratories in Texas, California, Arizona, Georgia, Ohio and Wisconsin. The company doesn’t have a laboratory in Arkansas.
The possible rezoning and sale wouldn’t have any effect on the area surrounding the property because the use would remain the same, said Patsy Christie, city director of planning and community development. The rezoning will go to the City Council on April 26.
Erin Spandorf can be reached by email at espandorf@nwadg.com or on Twitter @NWAErin.