College Awaiting Facility Master Plan

BENTONVILLE -- A new facilities master plan being developed for NorthWest Arkansas Community College will take into account a new interchange at Interstate 49 and the extension of Southeast Eighth Street across campus.

Those projects, along with the planned expansion of Water Tower Road on the east side of campus, will consume "significant amounts" of campus property, according to Debi Buckley, the college's chief financial officer. The college staff does not have an estimate of how much land it will lose.

The Eighth Street interchange will come in just north of the college's Shewmaker Center for Global Business Development and Center for Workforce Technologies. It will come within 60-80 feet of those buildings, said Jim Lay, college director of facilities construction and management.

Bentonville plans to extend Eighth Street from Southwest I Street east to the planned interchange. Eighth Street then will be extended across the college campus from the interchange east to Water Tower Road.

The city is in the middle of the right of way acquisition process for the Eighth Street project, said Mike Churchwell, city transportation director.

"As of right now, we've probably got six to seven more months of that," Churchwell said. "Then we've got to do utility relocation."

He said construction could begin in late 2016 or early 2017.

"That's a moving target," Churchwell said. "It could be a little earlier. It could be a little later."

The college earlier this year hired SCM Architects and McClelland Consulting Engineers to update the facilities master plan. The last time the plan was updated was in 2008. It will examine the college's infrastructure and help determine the best locations for future facilities.

Buckley said officials hopes to have a draft of the facilities master plan finished soon. It must go before the Land Use and Facilities Committee and the Board of Trustees for adoption.

Eighth Street will be about 20 feet high coming down from a bridge over the interstate and onto what is now the college's property. Officials are considering installing a pedestrian tunnel under the bridge, Churchwell said.

College officials would prefer to see the Eighth Street extension loop northward instead of cutting directly across campus, Buckley said.

"The main concern from the Eighth Street project is not having access to the northern part of the property and planning for signalized or adequate access to/from the southern half of campus at some location between Eighth Street and Highway 102," Buckley wrote, in a statement provided by the college.

Having Eighth Street snake north also would ensure preservation of a large grove of trees, including the Living Laboratory Nature Area used by the college for research and student projects. That grove is home to a Delta Post Oak tree, not typically seen this far north, Buckley said.

Churchwell said city officials are aware of that issue.

"We're willing to listen and consider anything," he said. "We'll work to have the least impact on their outdoor science area. So we're going to do everything we can, within reason. We still have design standards we have to meet."

Water Tower Road runs north-south and borders the campus' east side. The city plans to widen Water Tower from two to five lanes. Lay estimated that could take 35 to 40 feet of college property. There is no firm timetable for that project.

The city and college representatives have had no discussions about compensation for the college's land, Churchwell said.

"We're not even close to that yet," he said.

Meanwhile, the college staff is hoping to finalize purchase of a railroad spur that cuts across the campus. The Board of Trustees agreed in January to buy the one and one-quarter mile strip on which the rail sits from the Arkansas & Missouri Railroad for $2.5 million. The deal has not been completed. Steven Hinds, director of public relations and marketing, said last month the deal is in the railroad's hands.

Brent McCready, the railroad's president, did not return a phone message left for him last week.

Administrators pushed for purchasing the railroad strip mainly out of safety concerns. The spur is no longer used for transportation, but the railroad has been known to use it for parking rail cars. They also wanted to remove the rail for aesthetic purposes and to create a more cohesive campus.

College officials are also considering adding a performing arts and events center to campus. A vacant area just north of the college's parking garage is a possible place for that kind of facility, Lay said.

Several college officials have identified ways such a center could enhance learning opportunities for students and the community, Buckley said.

Evelyn Jorgenson, college president, is interested in having additional art exhibit space on campus, and a venue that would support theater and music, Buckley said.

Meredith Brunen, director of development for the college's foundation, has noted such a center would allow commencement and the annual gala supporting scholarships and college initiatives to be held on campus, Buckley said.

"That would perhaps reduce the need to use other leased facilities for those college functions," she said.

No other new facilities are envisioned at this time. The master plan will locate general-use educational facilities throughout the main campus, but none of that has been finalized, Buckley said.