Springdale Council Approves Lodge Purchase, Historic Poultry Building to be Razed

Historic Poultry Building To Be Razed

SPRINGDALE -- Historic buildings scored a win, a loss and a tie Tuesday in the City Council meeting.

The council voted to purchase Rabbit's Foot Lodge, demolish the Jeff Brown building and table razing the Apollo Theater. The lodge and the Brown building are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Apollo was where generations of Springdale residents saw movies. The Brown building and the Apollo are on Emma Avenue in downtown Springdale.

At A Glance

Council Action

Springdale’s City Council met Tuesday and approved:

• A $1.38 million construction payment to Emery Sapp and Sons for progress on the Don Tyson Parkway interchange on Interstate 49

• Rezoning 4.7 acres at 2653 N. 498th St. owned by Pinewoods West from agricultural to general commercial

• Rezoning 2.1 acres on the southwest side of Harber Avenue east of Bella Toscana Street, 3.5 acres at the end of Glass Drive and 8.8 acres on the north side of Don Tyson Parkway east of Cambridge Street, all owned by the city to institutional for fire stations.

• Settling a condemnation lawsuit for property along 56th Street owned by Thang Van Nguyen and Xuan Thi Huynh for $3,000

• A contract for a traffic signal at Don Tyson Parkway and 40th Street for $148,042 with All Service Electric

Source: Staff Report

"I wish the Brown building could have been saved," said Jonathan Perrodin, Springdale resident and business owner. "I am glad that something might be done with the Apollo."

The council tabled for 90 days razing the Apollo after Philip Taldo, a real estate salesman in the city, asked for a delay at a council committee meeting Monday. Taldo said the owner, James Ritchie, listed the property with him two weeks ago for $70,000.

The building has drawn several inquiries, Taldo said, with one possible purchaser showing high interest.

The city also tried to save the Brown building, said Mayor Doug Sprouse. The property, the first building east of the railroad tracks on the south side of Emma, was donated to the city by Jim Cypert. The donation was made after the city asked him to tear it down or repair it.

Poultry pioneer Jeff Brown operated his hatchery out of the building. The Brown building and the original Tyson Foods headquarters to the east were listed on the National Register as the Springdale Poultry Industry Historic District

"I know of at least three groups that looked very hard at the building," Sprouse said. "They costed the expenses out and did their homework and it wasn't economically feasible to repair."

The price for demolishing the building could run up to $70,000, said Sprouse with a possible cost of $20,000 for asbestos removal. Alderman Jim Reed said he worked with several asbestos removal companies and thought that cost could be reduced.

The city will own the vacant lot when the building is removed, Sprouse said, but the estimated value of the property is $60,000. The city may not break even on the demolition cost but it will have less invested than if the council had condemned the building when Cypert owned it.

The city would have placed a lien on the property for the cost of the razing and be paid back when the lot sold, Sprouse said. That payback, however, would keep the lot from selling until its value grew to be bigger than the lien.

Without a lien, the property could be sold much sooner, Sprouse said.

The property around the lodge will become part of the Springdale park system, Sprouse said. The city is looking for an organization to use the building and help with its upkeep, he said.

This purchase is similar to one Fayetteville officials made recently for the Mount Kessler property, Perrodin said.

Fayetteville paid $3 million for 376 acres for a park in the southwest corner of the city. The Walton Family Foundation contributed $1.5 million to the purchase with the Fayetteville Natural Heritage Association committing to raise $300,000 in three years to offset the cost.

The cost of the lodge is $1.05 million but Johnelle Hunt has donated $500,000 toward the purchase, Sprouse said.

"This is an important and significant structure for the state," Sprouse said.

The value of the property, if used as a residential development, would be $1.1 million, according to an appraisal sent to the council.

"The city is putting a lot of money into the northwest corner where people are already relatively affluent," Perrodin said. "I'd like to see more money going downtown but this is a property that needed to be purchased for all the city's residents."

Sprouse reminded people the lodge, between Lake Springdale and J.B. Hunt Park, was still private property that belonged to Karen Morton until the closing date of May 28.

"The owner said there was a steady stream of cars coming up the driveway," Sprouse said. "Everybody will get a chance to look at it after we close."

NW News on 04/23/2014

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