Motel destroyed by fire to become apartment complex

FAYETTEVILLE -- Mark Zweig hopes to turn the shuttered Twin Arch Motel into 14 upscale apartments by the end of the year.

The 1950s-era motel at 521 N. College Ave. closed in 2011 after a fire burned through part of the roof and caused extensive smoke damage.

He purchased the property for $150,000 Dec. 15 through the Fayetteville-based design and development firm bearing his name. Zweig is known for his renovation work, winning the Adaptive Reuse Award from the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce in 2014 for a house he revamped at 227 S. Locus Ave. But he said the Twin Arch buildings were destroyed over time and don't meet any city codes.

"It's not worth it," he said of saving the buildings. "We need to make it a larger project to make it work."

Zweig plans to keep the building footprint the same, with three buildings forming a U-shape on the long, narrow piece of property. The buildings will have high ceilings and lots of windows and will border a pool. The back building will be two stories.

"We want to make it cool," he said. The target tenants for the fully furnished apartments will be visiting professionals. Leases, including utilities, tentatively range from $600 to $1,300.

The company also purchased land on the motel's south side that will be used for parking.

The property is about a half-acre, and Zweig anticipates construction will cost around $1.2 million.

Zweig isn't the first developer hoping to turn the property into apartments. Rogers-based Community Development Partners bought the motel in 2012 and wanted to turn it into nine studio apartments geared toward University of Arkansas graduate students and young professionals.

Garrison Roddey, one of the partners with the Rogers group, said it took time to acquire the south lot and the firm struggled with a layout and design plan that met all the city's requirements.

"At the time it was a greater risk than we were willing to take," he wrote in an email. "The commercial renovations like the Twin Arch require the talent that Mark posses and we are stoked to see his vision."

Zweig said he hasn't filed for any building permits yet but did get input from city officials early in the planning stages.

"It's a problem parcel, and it needs to be redone. Hopefully the city will work with us," he said, adding he hopes his project adds to the city's revitalization efforts. Zweig called the stretch of North College Avenue leading to the city's downtown embarrassing.

Fayetteville leaders have plans to improve North College Avenue between Maple and North streets that include new sidewalks, trees and buried utilities.

Alderman Matthew Petty said the sidewalk project will cost about $2 million; the east side will be done this year and the west side in 2017. Petty is also chairman of the city's Transportation Committee.

"I really think it goes beyond beautification or establishing a gateway to downtown," he said. "North College can be an extension of the downtown and has quite the economic potential as a place to do business and build housing."

Chris Brown, Fayetteville city engineer, said most of the overhead lines should be buried this year between Maple and North streets. The improvements will extend the work the city did to North College Avenue south of Maple Street in 2009 and 2010, he said.

Zweig said the planned improvements should help spark additional development along North College Avenue. He said he is looking at additional properties along the thoroughfare.

Petty said he's ecstatic at Zweig's plan for the Twin Arch Motel.

"Making an investment at this time in North College is a bit of a risk, but I applaud Mark Zweig for taking that risk," Petty said. "It has the potential to be a great project."

NW News on 01/08/2016