FAYETTEVILLE — A 1950s era motor lodge on North College Avenue could soon become studio apartments.
Fayetteville planning commissioners Monday approved a rezoning request to allow residential development on the old Twin Arch Motel property at 521 N. College Ave., about a halfmile south of North Street.
The motel closed after an August fi re damaged several of its 11 rooms.
Garrison Roddey and Tom Harding, partners with Rogers-based Community Development Partners, plan to convert the motel into nine studio apartments marketed toward University of Arkansas graduate students and young professionals.
“It needs a tender, loving hand,” Harding told commissioners Monday. “We’d like to just massage it and turn it into a really nice apartment complex.”
The 0.37-acre property is owned by Grace Warren, according to Washington County property records. Warren bought the motel in 1985 with her late husband, Keith, according to a letter from Roddey to Fayetteville planning staff .
Harding said construction should begin on the property in August.
Also on Monday, commissioners waived standard parking requirements for George’s Majestic Lounge. The concert venue’s owner, Brian Crowne, said George’s is undergoing its fi rst major renovation since 1989.
Crowne is replacing a construction trailer that has served as an artist dressing room for several years with a roughly 1,000-square-foot building. The building will add backstage space for bands, making George’s a more attractive stop for traveling acts, Crowne said.
Fayetteville code requires one parking spot for every 50 square feet of commercial space at dance halls, bars and taverns. That would have meant 20 new parking spots to be built at George’s.
“In this instance, staft finds that the intended use of the additional spaces simply won’t add additional parking demand,” said Jesse Fulcher, a Fayetteville planner.
Renovations to George’s, which was built in 1927, also include raising the stage and adding a climate-controlled garden area. Crowne said those renovations are intended to improve sight lines for concert-goers and to give them a place to cool oft during hot weather.
“We’re working on 86 years in business,” he said. “It’s time to put a good shine on the old joint.”
Crowne said he hoped to have all renovations complete by the first or second week of August.
Planning commissioners approved both items unanimously Monday.