Developer Eyes New Apartment Site

— The Springdale development team behind plans for several multistory apartment complexes in town is at it again.

Seth Mims, a partner with Specialized Real Estate Group, told Fayetteville planning commissioners Monday he intends to build “another walkable, multifamily, urban community” on 2.8

At A Glance

Planning Commission

Also on Monday, the Planning Commission:

-Approved extended days and hours of operation for the Fayetteville Farmers’ Market on land south of the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks. According to the permit approved Monday, the market will be allowed to operate year-round under a roughly 5,000-square-foot tent from 7 a.m. to noon on Saturdays, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays and from 4 to 7 p.m. on another day of the week. Lori Boatright, a manager for the farmers’ market, said Monday the market would begin opening on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. through the winter months.

-Denied a request by Arkansas Helicopters to operate helicopter rides at Mae Farm, 4618 N. College Ave., throughout the year.

Source: Staff Report

acres south of the University of Arkansas campus. Several rental homes and at least one small apartment complex are located on the land, which is south of West Center Street between Duncan and Hill avenues.

Planning commissioners unanimously supported the rezoning and forwarded Mims’ request to the City Council for final consideration.

The rezoning request comes just weeks after University of Arkansas officials intervened in Specialized Real Estate’s plans for a 122-unit, 450-bedroom apartment complex at West Cleveland Street and North Hall Avenue. Dozens of nearby homeowners had objected to the development, saying it would add traffic on residential streets and detract from the character of their neighborhood. On Nov. 2, the university’s Board of Trustees voted to purchase or condemn most of the “Project Cleveland” property. Don Pederson, the vice chancellor for finance and administration, said at the time the university’s immediate plans for the property were for parking.

All six residents who spoke to the Planning Commission on Monday about the new project — identified as “Eco New” in city documents — spoke in favor of it.

Douglas James, a university biology professor, said he is one of just a handful of homeowners on Duncan Avenue. “Everything else is rental these days,” James said.

James said, as a board member of the Fayetteville Natural Heritage Association, he has pushed for infill development in downtown Fayetteville — rather than construction on the outskirts of town.

“I have no objection to this,” James said.

Mikel Lolley, a sustainable building consultant who lives across Hill Avenue from the rezoning site and just north of Eco Modern Flats — a platinum Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified apartment complex that Specialized Real Estate opened last year — said he welcomes more energy-efficient apartments nearby.

“I couldn’t have hand-picked a developer that I have more faith and confidence in to deliver a development that I have envisioned for that neighborhood for 30 years,” Lolley said.

Specialized Real Estate Group is also the company behind Sterling Frisco, a 183-unit apartment complex that’s going up north of Dickson Street — at Lafayette Street and West Avenue. Construction has not yet begun on another proposed complex off Lafayette Street where a University Baptist Church activity center and parking lot is located.

Monday’s rezoning application did not include specifics about the size or scope of the new apartment complex. Mims said he intends to come back to the Planning Commission with a large-scale development application, a separate step in the development review process in which full designs must be made public.

According to Blake Jorgensen, an engineer for the project, Specialized Real Estate is eyeing 10 separate properties for the project.

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