FAYETTEVILLE — Plans are in motion for a new fuel station and convenience store at the southeast corner of North College Avenue and Township Street.
If negotiation is finalized as expected next month, a new, 10-pump, 5,000-square-foot Kum & Go store will take the place of the former Butcher Block restaurant, a building that has changed hands several times and has sat vacant for months.
“Kum & Go is excited to be in Northwest Arkansas, and we have 25 stores in this state,” said Catherine Huggins, a spokeswoman for the Iowa-based company. She stopped short of saying the new station is a done deal, but an engineer who has worked closely with the city on the project confirmed construction is expected to begin on the 1.22-acre property in February.
The Fayetteville Planning Commission approved redevelopment plans for the property in November.
The now-vacant buildings that once housed Bill & Tony’s Liquor Store and Tabriz Auto are also to be razed to make room for the station, said Jeremy Pate, city development services director.
According to records from the Washington County assessor, the Butcher Block property is owned by the Bank of Fayetteville. It was appraised in 2010 at $120,200, and Jordan Jeter, a real estate agent with Flake & Kelly Commercial, said Kum & Go is wrapping up negotiation to buy the property.
Lance Umbarger, who owns Beauty World at 2564 N. College Ave., said he hoped a facelift to the property would draw other businesses to the area and increase property values for all surrounding property owners.
Umbarger said the old Butcher Block restaurant is an eyesore and a traffic hazard, especially for eastbound drivers turning off College onto Township.
“Anyone behind that building that pulled out there took their life and their car in their hands,” Umbarger said.
As part of the large-scale development Fayetteville planning commissioners approved, the city required that Kum & Go engineers remove open access points along Township.
CEI Engineering representative Erin Rushing, who does all of Kum & Go’s engineering work in Northwest Arkansas and southwest Missouri, said the only curb cut that will remain is the one that leads into the Ozark Reptile Museum, Arcom Printing and the Home Brewery.
“The farther you can get those drives away from the traffic signal, the safer the traffic flow is,” Rushing said.
Kum & Go, based in West Des Moines, opened a store in Springdale last month and is building an additional store in Bentonville.